Long Way Down
by le.etoile
Summary: Two entirely different people somehow intertwined by similar pasts. With one boy disabled and the girl with a secret, how will these two not-so-strangers learn to trust and fight against an unknown force together? IchiHime AU fic. Hali's challenge fic.
1. Chapter 1

_I've had this idea in my head for a while, and I actually wrote this out a while ago too. I was planning on waiting to start this till _after_ I got one of my other Bleach stories done, but... Meh. Nothing's wrong with throwing this out anyways... (Though I prolly won't work on this again for a while, due to the other stories. I just figured that submitting this first chapter would get me started on writing YS and HB. Anywho... I hope you like this. :] )

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_'Calm down… It's only your first day…'_

In front of the 2-1 classroom door, an auburn-haired girl stood nervously, peering in through the tiny window with big gray eyes. She waited for the teacher to motion her into the classroom. She shifted her weight onto her right leg, keeping her hands tightly fisted. Her long hair cascaded down her back and a bit over her shoulders, the tips slightly curling. Two light blue hairpins held back longer bangs; each shaped like a small, six-leafed flower. They both shone a bright turquoise whenever the managed to catch the sunlight.

She wore a white, button-up T-shirt with slightly poofed sleeves, and short tie loosely hanging around her collar. On the button-up, the school crest, which she was now proud to bear, was nicely embroidered on the left breast of the shirt. A halter vest with medium-sized, gold buttons on the front fit snugly around her waist and the edge of the black fabric hid under her generous chest. Underneath the edge of the vest was a small, pleated plaid skirt. Black socks reached to her knees and off-white flats adorned her feet.

'_It's now or never…'_ the girl thought, taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves. The teacher motioned her hand for her to come in, causing the girl to jump in surprise, a small squeak escaping her lips.

Grabbing the cool door handle, she slid the classroom door open, revealing almost thirty eyes staring at her. _'O-Oh my…'_

"Class, this is Inoue Orihime. She transferred from Tokyo, to here, Karakura," Ochi-sensei introduced her to the class as the auburn-haired beauty took nervous steps to the front of the room, doing her best not to turn red at the hard stares. "Would you like to say a few words, Inoue-san?"

Nodding nervously, she licked her suddenly dry lips and cleared her throat. "A-Ano, like Ochi-sense said, I'm here from Tokyo. Although I'm new here, I can't wait to get to know all of you…" Orihime spoke quietly, bowing in introduction. She heard a few students snicker quietly, causing her to raise her head back up in slight confusion. _'Ah… Did I do something silly?'_

"Inoue-san, you'll sit in front of Kurosaki Ichigo, in the back," Ochi spoke, pointing to the orange-haired boy in the back. Her big gray eyes wandered to the place she was focussing to, and she saw the boy she was referring to. Orihime felt her cheeks grow warm as she assessed him. _'Amber eyes, messy, orange hair, cute scowl… Ah, no Orihime! This is your first day! Don't go gaga over someone today!'_

"Hai," Orihime replied, a little too enthusiastically. She took careful steps towards the back of the room, now not caring much about the heated looks she was getting from the boys. What she did care about where the comments she heard as she walked.

_"Boy, she's a hottie. Just look at those breasts!"_

"_I bet she's been with a million other guys with those looks. I'm sure I can get her to hook up with me."_

"_But that hair color is sure freaky. Though it makes you wonder if the curtains match the drapes, if you know what I mean."_

Feeling deflated, she stopped right in front of her desk, waiting a short moment before sitting down. _'O-Okay… So I can't be friends with the guys… T-That's okay.'_

"_Just look at all the hot gazes she's getting from the boys! I bet she's just a big-breasted whore who sleeps with anyone and everyone…"_

Tears began to sting at her eyes and she promptly took her seat. _'Scratch that… I can't be friends with the guys _or _girls…'_ She let her eyes wander around the classroom, noticing no one was looking at her anymore, but little did she know, intense amber eyes looked at the back of her bright, auburn-haired head.

Orihime sighed and let her muscles relax slightly. _'This is going to be a long year…'_ She thought to herself, propping her chin on her palm. Her eyes hovered over to window and looked out into the schoolyard. She noted how many cherry blossom trees there were planted in the schoolyard. Letting a small smile creep onto her lips, she decided she'd eat lunch under one of them. It was such a beautiful day, why not enjoy it while eating her favored wasabi and red bean jelly sandwiches?

It wasn't long until she heard the lunch bell ring, which immediately made her feel bad. It was her first day and she had missed the entire lesson! Every other student got up from their seat and rushed to their friends, smiling and laughing to themselves. Orihime took her time gathering together her things before going to class, while everyone had left. Even the teacher!

"Ah… I don't think I'm going to find any friends here… No one seems to like me," She softly spoke to herself, sliding her books into her desk. Orihime swept a stray bang behind her ear, her heart falling significantly.

"You care what people think?" A deep, gruff voice asked, startling her. She turned around to discover the orange-haired boy from earlier was still sitting at his desk. Kurosakuku, was it? No, that wasn't right…

"E-Eh! I-I'm sorry, I thought I was alone in here…"

"Clearly you weren't."

"R-right… I'm sorry…"

He grunted in response, unwilling to continue the conversation. The boy wore his gruff scowl as he packed his own things into his desk, lean tan fingers running over multiple books. She watched him in amusement, as if she'd never seen anything so interesting.

"What the hell do you think you're looking at?" He barked, causing her to jump and turn a bright red.

"S-Sorry! I-I, u-um… zoned out," she lied instead of telling him the truth that she was inwardly musing over how much she liked his hair.

"Well zone out elsewhere," he replied gruffly, moving his chair backwards to get out. "I don't like people staring at me."

'Clearly…'

His long arm stretched to his book bag and he pulled out a brown lunch sack. Placing it into his lap, he started to… Roll back? He remained in his sitting position and his arms moved in a general counter-clockwise direction. He soon revealed he wasn't as how he appeared to be.

Strawberry Kurosakuku was in a wheelchair.

A small gasp escaped her pink lips, quickly causing her to throw her hands to her lips, and she received a murderous glare. One that said, _"Don't even. If you do, I'll kill you.' _Keeping her lips into a tight line, her mind raced for an excuse.

"I-I… saw a bug…"

"Tch… Yeah right… Bug my ass…"

And with his final words, she watched himself harshly wheel himself away, clutching her own lunch tightly. Her stomach clenched in both hunger and anticipation, as she replayed his comments in her head. He was stern, and had angry eyes, but she found his scowl to be utterly adorable. She also found her heart to be beating at an irregular pace. It was quite fast that normal.

'… _He's certainly different…'_

_._

_._

_.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

"You know, that new girl seems awfully quiet. Maybe she's a mute."

"What the hell, Renji? You heard her introduce herself at the beginning of the class."

"Lest you two forget, it's Inoue-san's first day and our class size is larger than the rest. You two don't' seem to understand the concept of being nervous."

"Regardless…" Arisawa Tatsuki broke into the conversation between the three. Letting her dark eyes glance through the fence and onto the school grounds, she rose an eyebrow as the watched the new girl, Inoue Orihime, under one of the many cherry blossom trees planted. She was alone, as to be expected, but she still wore an obvious smile as she ate her lunch in solitude. "Something about her seems familiar… What do you think, Ichigo?"

All the talking stopped and all eyes were now on the bright-haired boy, who ate his own lunch with a common scowl and furrowed brows.

"I think she's crazy."

Kuchiki Rukia gasped in horror and punched the teen in the arm. "You've never even talked to the girl, and yet you have the nerve to call her crazy? You're such an idiot!" Swatting away the small hand and hiding the pain she actually managed to inflict on him, Ichigo glared and growled to the smaller girl.

"She thought she was fucking alone in the classroom, and started talking to herself. Normally when people talk to themselves, it's considered insane," he explained angrily before taking another bite from his sandwich.

"Oh? What did she say?"

"She was whining about how she won't get any friends."

And he earned another punch.

"What the hell was that for?" He demanded in an irritated tone, throwing his food onto his lap and placed his hands on the wheels of his chair, ready to ram the so-called annoying girl into the fence if needed.

"Because knowing you, you probably responded with something awful," Tatsuki cut in, finding his words offensive as well. "Clearly you don't know how sensitive girls can be!" Rolling his eyes, he locked his wheels back into place before picking up the almost forgotten sandwich.

"Because you two are totally sensitive, despite one being a black-belt in karate, and the other taking fencing."

_Punch._

"I'm not going to lie, Kurosaki. You deserve all those punches," Ishida Uryuu calmly spoke out, bringing his stare temporarily from his book. Ichigo sorely rubbed at the area being repeatedly punched, only now deciding it was best not to make any more crude comments. He certainly didn't want to go home with a black eye or something.

"Screw you, Ishida…" Ichigo mumbled, now indefinitely giving up on his lunch. Shoving the remains of his food back into the paper bag, he ignored the curious glances from the rest of his friends. He unlocked his wheels and slowly made his way to the fence, a dark look etched onto his face. "She seems superficial, with her looks. Plus she's a Tokyo girl." Whipping his head back to the rest of the group, he continued to scowl. "I bet she's a naïve idiot who only thinks of herself."

A collective sigh was heard on the rooftop, and Tatsuki stood up from her place. "I bet _you're_ the idiot. Seriously, Ichigo, why must you make judgements like that?"

He shifted his head again, scoffing. "She freaked out when she saw my chair," he growled, still giving the girl on the school ground an unknowingly fierce gaze. "And I don't want her fucking pity."

He crossed his arms as soon as the lunch bell rang throughout the entire grounds. The group of teens glanced once more at the new student, watching her pack up her own lunch, a goofy smile still plastered on her face. The orangette rolled himself back, muttering angry nonsense to himself.

"She looks nice, to be honest," Rukia commented, gripping the chain-link fence. "I think I'll ask if she wants to walk home with us after school." A small sneer threatened to grow on her face as she imagined the boy's upset reaction. She saw his shoulders tense up and he turned around slowly.

"Oh, hell no. No way in hell are you asking that stupid girl to walk with us…"

Rukia only smiled, turning her head towards the crippled boy.

"Too bad, because I'm planning on it!" And she skipped past him, only infuriating him further. Ichigo could only inwardly swear and glare, as he followed her slowly from behind.

Small knees where planted on the floor, a small body accompanying the position. Orihime sat before her table with a picture of a man placed on the tabletop. A small smile graced her face as she looked at the frame longingly.

"It was my first day at school, Onii-chan…" She spoke quietly and to herself, folding her hands neatly in her lap. "It was… interesting to say in the least." Silence only greeted her back. Her ashen gray eyes glanced towards the window, looking into the setting sun.

"I met a very funny boy too, Onii-chan! Er, rather, I saw him again…" Gray eyes flashed with some sadness. "I didn't expect him to remember me anyways… But it was definitely a shock to seem him in a wheelchair."

A small tear managed to escape and fell down her pale cheek. "I wonder what happened…" Orihime wondered, a soft sob escaping her. Though, as if a change dawned onto her, she snapped her head up and smiled back to the picture, despite still crying a bit. "I walked home with Kurosaki-kun and one of his friends though! She seems really nice and loves bunnies. Kurosaki-kun, on the other hand though… He just seemed angry. Though it's sort of funny, I guess."

She took another heaving breath and looked at her brother's photo. "Maybe I'll get on his good side again. Maybe someday… We'll see, Onii-chan," Orihime smiled as she silently spoke her temporary goodbye. And all of a sudden, as if in a frenzy, she bunched her fists together and smiled, throwing them lightly into the air. "Good bye, Onii-chan! Please say hi to mom and dad for me!"

And with a quick movement, Orihime stood up and left her apartment to shop for groceries. She didn't have long until the sun set, and she'd want to get home before it was dark. Even without family around her, she still respected their 'rules' they had created before their passing, and one of them was to be home before it was dark.

Orihime inhaled deeply the chilly night air and outstretched her hands. It was both a relief and a worry to be back in Karakura, though she was glad no one remembered what happened to her and or knew why she had moved away in the first place. Shuddering from the cold, she shook the nonsensical thoughts from her head and began to walk to the convenience store.


	3. Chapter 3

"_So why did you move here to Karakura, Inoue?" Rukia asked in an interested voice. She half-heartedly twisted the tips of her hair as they walked. Well, the two walked and one rolled. "God knows there's nothing interesting here." Orihime smiled lightly._

"_Oh, but that's the exact reason why I came here!" She explained, pointing a finger into the invisible air. "It's much calmer than Tokyo. Definitely no scary stuff here."_ _Orihime tried to keep her heart rate down. She couldn't tell if her heart was beating so fast because of the orange-haired boy beside her or how nervously close she was getting to saying things she didn't particularly want to talk about._

"_Scary stuff? Like what?"_

"_Just usual scary Tokyo stuff," she resumed, choosing her words carefully. "Murders, robberies, monsters, the usual." Orihime did her best not to shudder._

"_Monsters?" Ichigo scoffed, finally bringing himself into the conversation. Orihime whipped her head back to him and her cheeks flooded with heat. Nodding, she used her hands to explain further._

"_Yes! There were times where I would wake up and it was pretty obvious Godzilla was around again, because the ground shook uncontrollably!" She resumed, a serious expression on her face. "It was very dangerous!"_

"_Uh… Are you sure those weren't earthquakes?" Rukia cut in, sweat dropping to her vivid imagination. Orihime shook her head, her bright auburn hair following her wherever she went. Ichigo couldn't help but feel awkwardly mesmerized for a brief second by the shining of her long locks. Bringing his stare back to the road in front of them, he forced his face to stay cool._

"_Oh no, it was Godzilla alright!"_

"… _I see…"_

_A silence swept over the three and the only sounds heard were soft crunches from shoes and the constant sound of rolling wheels. After a while, Orihime began to hum lightly to herself, swinging her bag back and forth with every step._

"_So… Where do you live?" Rukia broke the silence and incited risen eyebrows from the gentle girl. Raising a hand, Orihime pointed to the apartment complex not too far from their current spot. Rukia soon sported a surprised look and Ichigo scowled harder._

"_That's, like… A few houses down from ours," Rukia gaped as she didn't think the new student lived so close to them. "And you live with your family?" Orihime stopped for a moment, her stomach lurching. The two others noticed her sudden stop and Rukia looked at her slightly concerned. Ichigo just looked pissed because they had stopped._

"_Inoue?" Rukia questioned, bringing the girl out of her thinking. Numbly, Orihime shook her head and clutched at the hem of her vest with tight fingers._

"_No… It's just me, Kuchiki-san," Orihime spoke quietly, a smile on her suddenly weary face. Ichigo raised an eyebrow. _'… It looks forced,'_ He thought before grinding his teeth together. _'Wait, why the hell do I care?'

"_Ah, you live alone? How cool! I wish I could, but my brother lives with me. He's cool and all, but he can be overprotective sometimes too," Rukia carried on, watching Orihime continue her walking. Nodding with a smile, she looked to the boy in the wheelchair._

"_How's your family, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked, quickly gasping at her choice of words. He hadn't appeared to recognize her so far, why should she let on that she knew him before? If he acted like this now, she'd do the same. He glared at her and remained silent._

"_Oh, Ichigo is with his dad and two sisters. The sisters are normal, but his dad… He can be sort of weird sometimes," Rukia replied for the stubborn redhead. Grunting in agreement, Ichigo wheeled himself forward at a slightly faster pace. Orihime let her mind wander for a short moment._

'Ah… But what about his mother? She was so nice… I wonder if something happened to her,'_ Orihime wondered, soon noticing her apartment was in front of her. _

"_Well, this is my stop," the teen told the two, pointing to her complex. "It was really nice to walk home with both of you." Rukia waved her hand as a careless gesture and smirked lightly._

"_It was no big deal. I'm glad we got to know you a bit better."_

_Orihime nodded and looked at the scowling boy, still looking at something off in the distance. "Thank you very much Kurosaki-kun," she commented in a calm tone, somewhat startling the boy. Snapping his head back, he hadn't expected her to sound so… gentle. He knew he was being plenty pissy, but he only did it as a precaution to keep her from getting too close. He really didn't want any of her pity. _

"… _It's fine…" He grumbled before turning his wheels and going to his own house. Rukia waved to the girl and smiled._

"_See you tomorrow, Inoue! Have a good night!" She said over her shoulder._

"_Ja ne!"_

_And as they left, Orihime's false smile faded into her face, her stomach cramping in pain. She had gotten a little too close to them for the first day. It would be a lie if she said she didn't want to make friends, but she didn't want anyone to get close to her. Not after what had happened._

_Sighing deeply, Orihime turned the lock on her complex and closed the door behind her, where darkness was abundant in her abode.

* * *

_

His amber brown eyes flashed with unusual feelings as Kurosaki Ichigo sat at the back of the room, dully watching the occasional flower petals fly with the wind outside of the window. He thought he couldn't get any more irritated, but he was wrong. After last night and _her_, he had gotten more and more annoyed.

After him and Rukia parted to go to their separate houses, the first thing his mind snapped back to was her. Inoue Orihime, the new girl. She plagued his thoughts from dinner to sleep, even going as far as to dream about her. His hand curled into a tight fist and he ground his teeth together in frustration. Why the hell did she look so freaking sad in his dream? He had just met this girl and now she was sobbing in his subconscious sleep! Although he couldn't exactly ignore the pain in his chest upon imaging her frowning face and fat tears rolling down her crimson-brushed cheeks.

As if on cue, the exact same person came through the door, unnoticed by most of the class. Students continued chatting, unaware of her entering the room. She looked tired, he noticed before sputtering swears to himself and looking back at the window. He really wished he knew what the hell was wrong with him, as he kept finding his eyes drifting back to her and her graceful steps.

Orihime kept her gaze on the floor, not noticing the dark gaze boring holes into her. Taking a quick seat, Orihime smoothed her skirt and leaned her chin on her palm before looking out the window herself. The soft sigh escaping her lips didn't go unnoticed by the boy behind her.

"Morning…" He blurted out, not thinking. She turned around in surprise, her big gray eyes startling him again.

"Ah, good morning Kurosaki-kun!" She commented, giving him another smile. _'Forced yet again'_ he found himself thinking. "How are you?"

"Fine," he replied short and curtly, bringing his eyes back to the window. Orihime puckered her lips slightly and nodded.

"That's good…" she replied wearily, doing the same as him. She continued to look out the window until the teacher showed up, bringing them both out of their spring gazing. Ichigo was still plenty angry about all of this and her in general, but what made him even angrier was this weird, painful ache in his chest upon seeing her fatigued and clearly stressed face. Groaning inwardly, he noted how this constant thinking of her was unhealthy and his constant anger was even unhealthier. In his mind, he told himself he'd have to fix that, and soon.

* * *

It was at lunch where they all sat, Orihime included. Rukia had invited her to eat with them, and Tatsuki seconded the notion, albeit hesitantly. Ichigo knew Tatsuki was good to new students, but this weird reaction she had towards Orihime was baffling. _'I'll have to ask her about it later…'_ He mentally commented before taking a large bite from his onigiri.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the three girls chat amongst themselves, noting the bright smile on the new girl's face. How could she grin so easily like that? To be honest, it sort of annoyed him. Just like everything else related to this girl as of late.

"So how do you like it here, Inoue-san?" Ishida inquired of the girl, stopping the other girls' mindless chattering. Orihime looked at the boy with a curious expression as he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, it's nice! It's very nice…" She replied, the smile still present. The rest of the group started to feel a bit confused at her hesitation before responding.

"Is there anything that's bugging you?" Ishida continued, dabbing his face with his napkin. Orihime shook her head and her hair followed her yet again, bringing Ichigo into another temporary trance.

"No, no, not at all! I'm just surprised I was able to make friends so easily, is all," the girl replied quickly, frantically waving her hands to reassure them further. A silence fell among the teens and Orihime grew more worried. "O-Oh, I-I'm so sorry! I'm so horrible for assuming we're friends so quickly! I just thought-" A sharp stare from the boy in the wheelchair immediately shut her up. _'I-I made him angry again…'_

Rukia laughed and shrugged. "It's okay, Inoue. I'm sure we all consider you pretty close already, despite you new here just yesterday." Orihime grinned at the smaller girl and sighed contently.

"Oh thank you," she breathed, feeling very relieved. Clutching her hand close to her heart, she couldn't tell if she wanted to be happy at this new revelation or afraid. Orihime decided eventually that, for now, she could let things be as is. Nothing was wrong with wanting to be close to someone.

The lunch bell rang and everyone looked to the doors, sullen looks on their faces. With it being such a nice day, none of them wanted to go back to class. Rukia and the others stood up and made their way back to class, eventually leaving Ichigo and Orihime alone. _'A-Ah, but how will Kurosaki-kun get back downstairs?'_ He glanced to her, noting her distress.

"Elevator," he told her sourly as if reading her mind, unlocking his wheels. Orihime pouted her lips and nodded, barely speaking an, "Ah, okay…" Orihime folded her hands behind her back as she waited for him.

"You don't have to wait for me, you know. I can get back to class myself," he told her, bending over to reach for his trash on the ground. Orihime's expression fell a bit and she began to bite at her bottom lip.

"I know you can, I just don't want you to get… lonely," she confessed, her cheeks growing hot. Ichigo stopped for a moment to look back up at her. She looked out over the edge of the rooftop and he wondered how she managed to surprise him so much. None of his friends had stayed after with him before out of concern he was lonely.

"… Thanks…" He somehow managed to choke out, bringing his eyes back to the ground and its litter. Orihime smiled even though he didn't look at her and her heart soared at his simple, but meaningful thanks.

"You're welcome Kurosaki-kun," she replied in that same gentle tone that startled him the previous day. Heat rose in his face and his heart was beating fast in his chest. _'What the hell is wrong with me?'_ Ichigo forced himself to pay even more attention to the ground, until he was so unknowingly close, he tumbled over and out of his chair. Orihime squeaked in concern and was by his side instantaneously.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She cried, clearly worried. Her small hand took his upper arm and she could only watch him be frustrated and ashamed.

"Dammit… I'm fine…" he told her quietly, using his arms to force himself back up. He had little luck and found it hard to drag himself back to his chair with his legs weighing him down. Orihime shook her head and bit her lip. She put her hands under his arms and with all her strength, did her best to help him up. Ichigo's cheeks definitely were on fire with her close proximity and the way her breasts were pushing against his own chest in her innocent attempt to help. Swallowing thickly, he did his best to focus on the task at hand, which was getting back into his chair. Now was not the time to be noticing the physical attributes of the new girl.

Eventually Orihime and Ichigo successfully managed to fix him back into his usual perch and with a sigh of relief from both, she let go of under his arms, her hands still tingling from his warmth. Ichigo still felt her lingering touch and was unable to calm his erratically beating heart. _'Dammit…'_ He swore to himself.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun, I didn't mean to touch you like that! I just wanted to help you because you fell and-" She began to ramble but stopped at his sudden stare. A stare so deep it sent a shiver down her spine. With a rare relaxed facial expression, a very small smile teased at the corners of his lips. Orihime's face grew hot and her hand still burned from feeling his body heat just moments ago.

'_H-He… smiled.'_ She thought dumbly, unable to say anything else.

"Thanks… Inoue," he told her quietly, before turning around and heading towards the elevator. Orihime forced a swallow. _'H-He said my name too…'_

The teen smiled big herself, despite being alone on the roof.

'_You're welcome, Kurosaki-kun.'_

_._

_._

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_


	4. Chapter 4

"_Do you… have to go?" The little boy asked the little girl, a sad expression on his face. The girl really didn't want to cry in front of her new friend, but she was missing him already._

"_Y-yes…" She hiccupped, wiping away constantly returning tears. "I-I'm going to miss you-"He cut her off with a quick hug._

""_It's okay!" He suddenly spoke exuberantly, a small smile on his face. "We're friends! We'll definitely see each other again someday." The boy pulled away, grinning at her red face. "Right, Okaa-san?" He looked up to his beautiful mother behind him. She nodded and smiled, putting a hand on her son's shoulder._

"_Of course," she told the two of them. "You'll definitely see us again. And don't worry; we'll welcome you back with open arms." The smaller girl sniffled and began to smile herself._

"_R-Right… Thank you for being my friend," she whispered, pulling him into another shaky hug. He turned bright red and patted her awkwardly on the back. She held onto him tight until her own guardian called for her. Moving away, the girl still smiled, although she still looked sad while doing it._

"_Bye bye, Ichigo-kun. See you later."

* * *

_

"What's your problem?"

"W-What? What's _your_ problem?"

"You're normally really good with new students, but you're blatantly ignoring Inoue."

"Oh, so you're on a name-basis now?"

He grimaced upon Tatsuki's point. He didn't like to admit it all that much that, yes, he was indeed calling her by her last name now. But it was better that _you_ or any other insult. _Those are saved for Keigo…_ He mentally commented.

"Regardless," he continued, following her as she walked. "What's going on Tatsuki?" The girl stopped for a moment, turning around to face him head on. And again, she had that disturbed look on her face.

"Isn't she familiar to you at all?" She questioned, placing her hands on her hips. Ichigo rose and eyebrow, confused at the point she was trying to get across.

"I've never met her before," he huffed, temporarily locking his wheels into place. "How the hell could she be 'familiar' to me?" Shuffling his papers together more neatly as he spoke, he waited for her to answer. Tatsuki only scuffed her feet into the floor and moved her hands from her hips to crossed under her chest.

"… It's nothing then…" She replied hesitantly, turning around to continue on to her next class. In a huff, the boy unlocked his wheels, growling at her sudden movement, and began to follow her once again.

"Something's up," he scoffed, glaring at her. "What the hell is going on Tatsuki?" He spoke with the tone that meant he wanted to know and _now_. She stopped again, shocking him, and gave him a deathly stare.

"Just stop being an idiot."

And the girl spun around and left the boy alone, more confused as ever.

* * *

Weeks went by and Orihime managed to worm her way into the hearts of almost everyone of his friends. She chatted with Rukia and Tatsuki about menial girl things, stayed after in the handicrafts club once in a while with Ishida, and cooed over cute things with Chad. She even occasionally took up conversation with Renji about sports!

Ichigo frowned, feeling somewhat thankful in his heart. At least she hadn't gotten soft around him. She was generous, he would admit, but he still didn't trust something about her.

Too bad his feelings didn't stop him from saying hello every so often. He'd quickly beat himself on the inside shortly after for affiliating himself with her. This woman whom he didn't want to be involved with was causing him to act like a freaking puppy. A lovesick puppy, Rukia commented one day. That was the worst day of all since the new girl, Orihime, had been there. He had wanted to ram his wheelchair into the smaller girl, but Orihime laughed it off as a joke, so he somehow shrugged it off as well.

"Owaaa, it's getting so hot," Orihime moaned, lightly pulling at the small tie adorning her neck. "It's not normally this hot here, is it Kuchiki-san?" The girl asked the smaller female next to her, fanning herself with her book she'd had from class. The three had ended up walking home recently, as Rukia wouldn't allow Ichigo to say no, for the most part.

Rukia shrugged and sighed. "It can be sometimes. Was it ever this hot in Tokyo?"

"Oh yes! It could get even hotter sometimes too," Orihime replied, suddenly full of vigor. Rukia rose and eyebrow and shrugged again, finding it too tiresome to speak. It was just _s_o hot.

"It's a long weekend, isn't it? Why don't we go to the pool or something?" She suggested, smiling as she imagined herself in the cool, icy waters. A shudder went down the small girl's spine with a smile adorning her face. Going to the pool would definitely be the best way to cool down. Orihime hummed while in thought, placing her finger on her chin.

"We could… What do you think, Kurosaki-kun?" She inquired, flashing a bright, shudder –inducing smile at him. He could only glare at her, then back down to his chair before she got the hint. Her face fell and she immediately felt bad. "O-Oh, right, I-I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun. I'm so inconsiderate."

"Don't be, Inoue. He's just being an ass."

"Hey, I'm not being an a-"

"But would you go swimming?" Rukia asked, nudging the taller girl in the side. Ichigo really wanted to jump off a cliff, as his mind went straight to the damn gutter as soon as she mentioned Orihime and swimming. _Don't think about her in a swimming suit, don't think about- Shit! _He kept imagining it anyways.

Orihime stopped and waved her hands frantically, as if trying to make a point. "Oh no, no. I can't swim. I'd wade or something though, but I do horrible at swimming for long periods of time." She explained, causing Ichigo to blow out a sigh of relief.

"Oh come on, live a little! I'm sure Ichigo would want to see you in a swimsuit anyways," Rukia commented, snickering to herself at her tiny joke. Orihime's cheeks grew very hot very fast and she whipped her head back and forth, letting Ichigo get mesmerized by those auburn locks for the umpteenth time in the last few weeks.

"O-Oh no, he wouldn't! D-Don't be so silly, Kuchiki-san!" Orihime burst out, cheeks ablaze. Ichigo shifted his gaze to the side of the road, cheeks just hot. _… And what if I did?_ He finally let himself think, giving into his perverted boy mind. "But I definitely think we should all go! Does Sunday at noon sound good?"

Rukia nodded and grinned, once again imagining the cool pool water. "Sounds perfect," she replied enthusiastically. Orihime smiled in return, toying with the handle of her bag. They were just outside her apartment, and she still had one question to ask the redheaded boy in front of her.

"Are you going to go too, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked, again in that same, sweet, gentle tone from before. The one that sent shivers down his back. He tried to block out the weird thoughts of how her voice in his ears sounded awkwardly pleasant.

Ichigo scowled lightly, keeping himself very tight-lipped. He nodded quickly, making her giggle at his silliness. Her carefree attitude caused him to relax his face a bit, lips threatening to curl up a bit. Rukia watched this exchange from the side in surprise.

_How… Interesting. _ She thought, bringing her lips into a defined smirk.

"We'll see you then, Inoue!" Rukia spoke out, grabbing Ichigo's handle of his wheelchair and started to pull him along. He groaned in frustration, slightly irritated at the small girl's interventions.

"Yes, see you two then! Bye bye Kuchiki-san! Bye Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime called out, waving to the two, despite the sweltering heat. Much to Orihime's surprise, Ichigo bickered at Rukia to stop for a moment, in which she complied. He turned around, cheeks slightly pink as he waved back to her.

"Bye, Inoue…" He uttered few words, before quickly turning back around and starting to wheel himself away. A gentle smile tugged at Orihime's lips and her face burned hot. Hitting her like a train, she finally had the answer to the question that had been plaguing her for weeks.

_I-I think… I think I like Kurosaki-kun…

* * *

_

"Not too bad Orihime…" The girl at the mirror grinned, giving herself one last check through on her appearance while she tied her hair into a pony tail.

Even though she wasn't going swimming, she still chose to wear a two-piece swimsuit, a "bikini" as Rukia would probably call it. (Although Orihime thought the word was too embarrassing to call it such, and referred to it as a two-piece instead.) The top was, unfortunately, a bit too tight, as they had no larger size for the poor girl. But the colors consisted of light pink and white, and the pattern throughout was a checkmark kind of pattern. Orihime cocked her head to the side as she always reminded her of the old blankets people used to use for picnics. (She also wondered if they had used the same material for the swimming suit she had now.) The top tied around her neck with a thin string and in the front with a slightly bigger bow.

Her bottom was the same pattern, although it had ruffles lining the edges of the suit. Orihime blushed, remembering the day she had picked this out. She also remembered all the lewd comments she got from the cashier when she was purchasing it back in Tokyo. She ignored him, just as her brother told her to do.

So for good measures, Orihime wore a tighter pair of smaller, tan shorts. Ones that would for sure stay on, just in case, and an old white cut T-shirt she had off-hand, for hot days like today. When first bought, it was a normal shirt, but Orihime, being the creative person she is, took scissors to the sleeves, making them shorter, changing the tight neck hole from before into a semi-plunging V shape, and trimmed the bottom of the shirt so it just ended just underneath her breasts, exposing her flat belly.

Back when she wore it in Tokyo, she knew it was definitely an "at home" shirt. Her sibling was always protective when it came to her. But surely her brother in heaven would understand, being it so desperately hot, she'd didn't think he'd mind too much. After all, she had friends that would help her if such a situation would arise. Orihime smiled awkwardly to herself, finding it a bit silly to be remembering such stuff just before she had to leave.

A loud knock at the door startled the healer at 11:30 on that following Sunday morning. She was just finishing getting ready for their friendly outing when a "visitor" had come to her door.

"J-Just a second!" She yelled out, tripping over her shoes while she attempted to fling herself towards the door. A loud cry came in result from her fall, and she winced in pain. _O-Oooowwieee…_ She mentally groaned, biting her bottom lip. Orihime forced herself to get back up, as she couldn't keep the person at the door waiting.

She regained her posture and brushed off her shorts, cheeks burning at the embarrassment of falling over her shoes. Taking in a deep breath, Orihime swung the door of her apartment open with great force, plastering a quick smile on.

"Hello!" She spoke happily, until her expression changed to a shocked one. "… Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo nodded gruffly and his cheeks appeared slightly pink as well. _Is it really hot outside?_ Orihime wondered. "Oh, please come in!" She offered, pulling herself to the side, giving him room for himself and his wheelchair to come in. His face burned more and he shakily went into her apartment.

"Um… Rukia told me to come get you. I mean, she's downstairs waiting…" he explained lamely, locking the wheels of his chair as his eyes wandered her apartment. Orihime grinned as she returned back to her room to finish packing her things.

"That's very considerate of you, Kurosaki-kun!" she called out to him from the other room. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, clinging tightly at the orange locks. Why the hell was he so nervous?

Forcing a cough to clear his throat, he nodded, although alone. "I-It's fine…" He replied coolly, eyes closing in a humiliated manner as he noticed he just stuttered. The urge to face palm was rising. Orihime bounced (yes, bounced, Ichigo confirmed), back into the room, a large pink bag at her side with the smile still on her face. Orihime grabbed the offending shoes off the ground, the ones she'd tripped on earlier, setting down the bag next to her.

"Are we meeting up with anyone else?" She asked, bending her knee up and slightly hunching over to put her sandal on. Ichigo, in all honesty, had _no_ clue what she had just said, as the loose, cut-up white T-shirt she was wearing was allowing him to see directly down her shirt.

_Holy mother of…_

"Y-Your…" He stuttered again, unable to bring his eyes from the awkward, yet mesmerizing image. "S-Shirt…" He finally managed to choke out. Orihime looked at him baffled, but traced his eyes to where he was looking towards, her cheeks growing hotter by the second. She clung to her almost non-existent collar with a blush spread across her cheeks and threatening to travel down her neck.

"O-Oh, I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun!" She swiftly apologized, bringing herself down to her shoes on the floor instead of the other way around. With this different way of putting them on, he wouldn't have to see her act so unintentionally slovenly.

"N-No, it's not your fault," he told her, clearing his throat again, unable to get that image out of his head. He watched her innocently put on her sandals, lips puckering every once in a while. Ichigo's heart rate shot up and he finally admitted she was cute. Yes, after weeks of uncertainty, he finally admitted she had good looks. She looked up to him with big, startling gray eyes, eyes shimmering with… something he couldn't put his finger on. "Um, ready to go?" He asked her. Orihime stood up and nodded, bringing back that bright smile.

"Yep! Let's go!" She cheered, bringing a hand back to her bare neck while the other now held her bag. He couldn't help but crack an almost invisible smile himself at her enthusiasm. Her excitement made him even a little excited to go as well.

"Right… Let's go."

* * *

Ichigo lied. He really didn't want to be here.

To sit under the umbrella at a table for almost four fucking hours already pissed him off. He could only watch his friends splash and play in the chilled water while he envied them with a bitter hate. He was stuck, and he wasn't going to be a pansy and ask for his friend's help to sit on the edge of the pool.

Though that wasn't the only reason he didn't want to be here. The temptation, the distraction of _her. _It made him feel like his head was going to swell too much from the heat. And not just the heat from the unnatural weather as of late.

As of right now, Orihime was lying on a reclining chair next to the table, on his side, taking a nap. She had stripped her shorts off before, saying it was definitely too hot for them, but chose to keep the T-shirt on. It rose some questions from himself and their friends, but she told them she wasn't _that_ hot and she was, admittedly, a little self-conscious. _Of what? From looking a lot better than the rest of the girls at our school?_ He thought, slowly getting used to the idea of thinking whatever about Inoue. Truth be told, he didn't like to at first, but at the pace she was worming into his own mind, he had to let go and go with the flow.

Her left leg was straightened while her right reclined at a lazy 45 degree angle. Her smooth legs made Ichigo feel the need to swallow frequently, as it was hard to breath with her in such a scandalous looking position. Seeing her flat stomach didn't help him any more either, although he interestingly noted how she had a small mole just above her belly button. Her hand was resting a bit underneath the white shirt, occasionally scratching her skin even while in sleep.

_Oh, to be that hand…_ He thought heatedly, bringing his ashamed gaze back to the plastic white table positioned in front of him.

"Inoue's asleep?" Rukia inquired, her body dripping wet from being in the pool. Ichigo didn't bother glancing back at the slumbering teen, only to know he wouldn't be able to stop looking. He nodded before grabbing a towel from across the table and handing it to his friend. "She looks hot, don't you think?" Rukia suddenly blurted out, drying her hair first with the towel. Ichigo's heart rate shot up and he looked at her offended.

"W-What the hell is wrong with you?" He spoke in a harsh whisper, not wanting to wake up Orihime. Rukia raised her eyebrows in confusion before bursting out into laughter.

"You thought I meant good-looking! Oh, Ichigo, get your mind out of the gutter!" She exclaimed, pointing rudely in the boy's face. Ichigo shoved the hand away, face burning hotter.

"N-No I didn't!" He retorted forcefully.

"Just look at her Ichigo," Rukia commanded, turning the redhead's face around, his neck cracking at the awkward position. "She looks like she's boiling alive, I meant." And it was true too. Her eyebrows were knit together tightly and her lips pursed themselves together tightly. Beads of sweat dripped down her already smooth skin, causing Ichigo to feel bad for the girl, and tempted all over again. _Dammit to hell…_

"Ah, I have an idea!" She suddenly chirped, letting go of the boy's face. Ichigo cracked his neck the other way, fixing it back to the way it _should _be. His eyes followed the smaller girl, watching her grab the medium-sized bucket off the table with a smile. Ichigo raised an eyebrow and unlocked his wheels, allowing himself to move into a position so he could watch her better. Rukia went to the side of the pool and dumped the bucket into the water, pulling it out only after it was almost completely full.

Then it clicked, and he threw his arms into the air, warning her she'd better not. Rukia ignored his threats and within moments, a bucket of icy cold water was dumped on the sleeping girl, causing her awaken. A loud, startled cry emitted from her lips as she threw her body upwards, arms flinging away at nothing.

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled at her, unable to catch up with her as the girl ran off with a silly grin on her face. "Fuck… Are you okay, Inoue?" He brought his attention back to the now shivering girl. She looked at him so confused, teeth chattering.

"I-I… D-Did I j-just get hit with water?" She stuttered, crossing her arms for warmth, only tempting Ichigo further with a wet shirt and her breasts being pushed together like that. He quickly averted his gaze and nodded sharply.

"S-Sorry Inoue, I know you were sleeping and I tried to stop her," he explained himself, wondering why the hell he had come here in the first place. Orihime slowly smiled and shook her head.

"N-No, it's alright. I would've been burned like fried fish if I hadn't gotten woken up! Can you imagine if I was all pink from sunburn after that? I didn't even think about putting on sunscreen before then!" Orihime rambled, the chair squeaking as she got up. Orihime, still sopping wet, waddled her way towards the chair opposite his, a slight limp in her step. Though the previously offending T-shirt revealed something to Ichigo that caught his eye.

"What's on your back?" He asked, seeing some dark red coloration from under the shirt. Orihime whipped her back around and smiled nervously. Although what she didn't know what that Ichigo knew it was one of her 'forced' smiles. _Something's up…_ He instantly thought.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," she tried to cover up by grabbing a towel. Her arms were no longer crossed like before, but the shirt still clung to her swimsuit and skin. She sat down on the plastic chair, the seat squeaking with her weight. Orihime lifted her knee slightly and bent over again to dry off the water on her leg. She rambled on about something again, but Ichigo couldn't pay attention. Not with her in that exact same position that caused him to be so flustered back at her apartment.

"-when I decided to- Ow!" Orihime let a small cry of pain slip as she patted her ankle with the towel. She removed the cloth quickly and looked curiously at the pained joint. Was it because she had fallen earlier at her apartment?

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, now definitely noticing her pain. Orihime tried to shake it off by shaking her head again.

"Nothing, it's fine…"

"Don't lie to me, Inoue," he mumbled before leaning over to grab her ankle and propped it up on his lap. She winced at the contact and bit her bottom lip to hide further hurt. He studied her leg, poking at it occasionally without trying to harm her too much. "It's sprained." He told her after a while.

"Eh? How do you know?"

"My dad's a doctor… I see this kind of stuff all the time."

"Oh… I see…" _How could I forget that little tidbit?_ Orihime wondered to herself, knocking her fist lightly onto her head for her stupidity.

"Just stay right here," Ichigo told her, lightly bringing her foot back to the ground. "I'll go to the first-aid station and get some wrap for your ankle." Orihime's cheeks flushed and she nodded dumbly, watching him go off. Blissfully unaware as she watched the boy from afar, the two girls she talked to frequently perched themselves on the edge of the pool, smiles on both their faces.

"Do you like him?" Tatsuki inquired, a smirk toying with her features. Orihime brought her head quickly to face the two and told them to be quiet. "Aha, so you do!" The girl could only burn a brighter red, if possible.

"I… I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me…" Orihime confessed, her small fingers fiddling with the holes of the plastic chair. Rukia laughed, startling her.

"Ichigo's cold to almost everyone. To be honest, you're the first person he's "taken a liking to", so to speak."

"E-Eh? R-Really?"

Rukia nodded and Tatsuki smirked again, both plopping themselves back into the pool. The boy was returning with the bandage wrap, and they wanted to watch the event in front of them unfold. "We'll talk to you later, Inoue," Rukia told her as they swam away.

"What were they talking to you about?" Ichigo questioned, locking his wheels back in place yet again once he arrived by the ungraceful redhead. Orihime flailed her arms and shook her head yet again.

"N-Nothing, nothing at all! Just silly girl stuff," she told him, obviously flustered. Upon hearing 'girl stuff', he immediately decided to let the matter slide. Grabbing a hold of her ankle again, he pulled it up and positioned it on his lap. Only this time, he started to notice just hot soft her skin was and how much heat she was radiating. He didn't notice at first because the first time around was just a natural reaction to someone being hurt.

"So…" he coughed, clearing his throat. "How did you say you hurt yourself?"

"O-Oh, I didn't, but, um…" Orihime fidgeted nervously in her spot, unable to get her mind off the occasional brush of his fingers again her skin. "D-Don't laugh, but… I-I tripped over my shoes back at my place..."

"That was you?" Ichigo asked flatly, causing her to raise her eyebrows.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, well, when I was waiting outside your apartment, I heard a loud thud from inside. But you came to the door, so…" He shrugged, lifting up her leg slightly again to get the bandage around it. "I assumed you were okay." He took a few more minutes to finish bandaging her, remaining silent until then. Once he was finished, he still oddly kept her foot on his lap for a few moments longer. "Apparently you weren't though…" He said, unconsciously running a light finger over her bandage. The fabric was thick, but his actions still sent a shiver down her spine. _Gaah, the things he does…_ she thought fervently, licking her suddenly dry lips.

"T-Thank you, Kurosaki-kun…" She spoke quietly and softly. Feeling unguarded, his face fell and he let himself smile a bit at her.

"It's no problem, Inoue."

The two redheads continued to talk, Ichigo suspiciously allowing Orihime to keep her leg propped up until they had to go. And not so far away in the chilly water, two girls with black hair were betting on who of the two would confess first.

.

.

.


	5. Chapter 5

As small sigh escaped her plump lips as she propped her head in her hands, eyes half-heartedly watching everything outside. Orihime hadn't been able to focus on the lesson. Her mind was still stuck on the previous weekend, back at the pool. Granted, now it was Thursday and it had been quite a few days since then, but she still remembered everything in vivid detail. The heat in her cheeks rose as her back arched up a bit, remembering his occasional touches as he wrapped her ankle for her.

Giving her face a couple of light taps, she told herself to calm down and stop thinking so dangerously. If she continued to act all nervous and flustered, surely her friends would notice. And then there was Kurosaki-kun... He was relatively quiet, but he was real sharp and noticed almost _everything_, though Orihime was glad in her heart that he didn't seem to notice her silly girl crush on him.

Blowing out a sigh of relief, she removed her hands from her face and folded them onto the desk. She knew she had to do something about her feelings soon. If she didn't hide it better, then he would definitely notice it too.

Seeing as the two had their next class together, Orihime offered the suggestion that they walk together. He had agreed cautiously, but what she didn't expect was her heart to kick it into high-gear. The loud beating in her ears made it hard to hear anything around her, more importantly, Kurosaki-kun.

"S-So..." Orihime stuttered, clutching her books close to her chest tightly. "Are you doing anything cool this weekend, Kurosaki-kun?" She did her best to collect pieces of her scattered brain to create a decent conversation.

"Not really... Stuck at home doing homework... Uh, yourself?" Ichigo replied casually, moving his hands at his usual pace on his wheels. Orihime grinned and held her books tighter, if possible, clearly excited about something.

"My aunt is coming to visit me for a while!" She chirped, remembering her extended family with fond memories. "She's so strong and smart and pretty, I can't wait!" Part of Ichigo melted on the inside upon hearing she still had family to visit her. He knew before she said she lived alone, so it was probably good to finally have some company in that what he assumed to be very lonely apartment.

"That's cool... When is she coming?"

"Ah, tonight, actually. I need to do much stuff though before she comes over, like clean and bake! At least I'm thankful that she eats the same things I do," she continued rambling on, still smiling.

Ichigo had been glad at first, but now he could've sworn he lost his stomach along the way upon hearing that this aunt of hers ate similar to the girl next to him. He shuddered at the thought of her bizarre foods, but part of him was genuinely curious as to what this aunt looked like. Would she have the same hair color? Did she have the same gentle disposition as the girl next to him?

"Uh, interesting... Hopefully you guys have fun then...?" He questioned, slowing down his pace a bit as they neared stairs. It was something he did usual, just as an extra precaution to not accidentally fly off. Ichigo normally wasn't stupid to go flying down the stairs, but there was no such thing as being too safe.

Orihime noticed his slower pace and turned around and waited for him, a bright and startling smile adorned on her already adorable face. Ichigo couldn't help but feel his face grow a bit hot at her innocent features. Although the way she turned around was far from innocent.

Maybe it was too many people, a draft or maybe it was luck, good or bad, Ichigo didn't know, but what he _did_ know was her plaid, pleated skirt had flown up a bit, exposing her pale thighs and a flash of something pink and lacy.

_Oh shit..._

He had immediately thrown his arms up to cover his eyes, shielding himself from the sight. It wasn't that he was disgusted, but he didn't want to be made out to look like a pervert. It was only worse luck for the crippled redhead that his elbow had caught onto someone else's flailing arm, causing him to tip over. Again.

As he began to fall down the stairs, the only thing that ran through his head was luck. How shitty his luck had been lately, but it seemed to only increase around that new redheaded student whom referred to herself as Inoue Orihime.

He eventually fell out of his chair and it tumbled down the rest of the steps, while his own weak body followed close behind. Ichigo could feel the sharp steps digging into his legs, arms, and other rather important body parts.

He felt something small and warm grab onto his arm and seemed to follow him along, but it all happened to fast, he couldn't determine who or what it was. Somehow, he readied himself to fall onto the hard floor, but miraculously didn't. After cracking open an eye, he found a very small, familiar girl under him. The one that _should've_ been still standing at the top of the stairs.

Orihime groaned lightly in pain, but she still managed to open her own eyes as she held a hand to her head. "A-ah, are you okay, Kurosaki-kun- Owie!" Another mewl of pain accidentally escaped her as she brought her other hand to her side, more specifically, her hip. The boy couldn't help but flush at their position, rather, his position over her, but still quickly used his arms to roll off and further avoid hurting her.

"Fuck, Inoue, are you okay?" He voice was laced with worry as he situated himself into a sitting pose, but still kept close to her to assess her possible injuries. "What the hell were you thinking, grabbing onto my arm like that?" Opening her hugely large eyes, her lips quivered slightly.

"I-I... You were falling and I didn't want you to get hurt..." Those sweet, concerned words that came from her lips made him melt a bit on the inside. He still thought it was stupid of her to practically cushion his fall, but it was still nice to hear of someone genuinely worried about him.

But he had no idea as to why she was always affiliating herself with him. It wasn't like he ever did anything for her.

Refocusing his gaze back on her, Ichigo started to notice a bit of red on the tile floor beneath her. The scene definitely started to shake him up, but he gingerly placed a hand on her head, cautiously turning her to face the other way. Ignoring the squeak of surprise from the girl, he frowned hard at the revelation she had gotten a little hit to the noggin and was now bleeding. But with just how hard she fell originally, he was surprised she hadn't passed out from the severe blow.

"Can you sit up?" He asked slowly, trying to remain calm in the situation. His hand shook lightly while still remaining on the top of her auburn red hair. He choked back a groan, forcing memories of the other woman in his life and the copious amounts of blood involved.

"Ah, I-I can try..." Orihime replied quietly, moving both hands to the cold tile around her and gently forcing her small body off the floor. More moans of pain tore through her lips but still remained persistent in sitting up. She had to for Kurosaki-kun!

With his help, she managed to sit up, only to want to clutch her head in ache, but was too flustered to since the boy had assisted her by holding her waist with one hand and her forearm with the other.

"K-Kurosaki-kun, what are we going to do now?" She spoke quietly, trying to be just as silent as the now hushed halls. "We have to get to class, don't we?" Wincing at seeing the blood again, he forced himself to shake his head at her absurd idea.

"_You're_ going to the nurse."

"E-Eh? But Kurosaki-kun!"

"No buts, Inoue. You're freaking bleeding."

Bringing her eyes into a downcast gaze, she nodded, doing her best to ignore the small throbbing pain on the back of her head. In a difficult attempt, Orihime managed to stand up again, despite the few stumbles and limping her hip caused. It didn't take her another second to still see Kurosaki-kun on the floor, and she immediately got his wheelchair, bringing it back over. She did as she was told and locked it so it wouldn't go rolling back as they worked together back into it for yet another time, but her cheeks grew to a dull burning at the thought of how close they'd be this time. She didn't think of it the first time she did it, but the second time it was the most vivid thing on her mind.

The boy dragged himself to his chair and actually managed to get back into it himself, using mainly upper body strength. Though the thing that piqued his curiosity was the weird tingling and twitching in his legs, which he almost never had. He tried to shrug it off and focus on the girl holding her head as if in pain, but still had eyes shining with worry for _him_ and him alone.

"Let's go to the nurse," he told her, unlocking his wheels and turning back around to head towards her office. Orihime lingered in her same spot, biting her bottom lip as she clutched at her vest lightly. He noticed her hesitation and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you coming?"

"A-Ah, Kurosaki-kun, you don't need to go with me. I'll be fine by myself..." She tried to assure him, using simple quiet words. Wordlessly, he went back to her and looked up to her with sincere eyes, eyes he'd never thought he'd use for _anyone_ other than that woman he was thinking about previously.

"I'm the one who saw your pa- E-Er, I'm the one that fell on you. The least I can do is walk you down to the nurse," he told her, fighting back a blush at the memory of the lacy pink panties he got a brief glance of. She opened her mouth to retaliate, but like every other time, he gave her a soft warning glare. That shut her up quickly.

They both ventured off to the nurse's office, at first, with Orihime trying to keep at a constant, normal pace with his wheelchair. Few whimpers of distress were heard from her lips, but otherwise she made no attempt to tell him to slow down. If he wanted to go at that pace, she had to keep up.

But it wasn't long until Ichigo noticed her limps and whimpers. After beating himself up on the inside, he slowed down for her, allowing her to take just as much time as she needed to get there.

He was so used to things so fast paced, he hadn't thought about it at first, but as they walked along, he realized he sort of liked taking this speed with her – slow.

Somehow, it felt oddly relaxing, but still, Ichigo accepted it nonetheless.

* * *

"Looks like you've gotten a cut on the back of your head and there'll be a pretty big bruise on your hip, considering the information I've gotten from you and from the physical," the nurse informed the two, stepping out from behind the curtain with the healer behind it as well. Ichigo couldn't see much, but merely a faint silhouette of her curvy form. He watched it move as she pulled up what appeared to be her skirt and button it from behind, as usual. The way her arms were positioned and the way her chest stuck out a bit made Ichigo feel like she was intentionally teasing him like this.

"A-Ano, how long do you think it'll take to heal?" Her high voice asked from behind the curtain, stepping out a moment later with a bandage wrap around her head and her small hand holding an ice pack to her hip.

"For the head, maybe one to two weeks, but you're probably going to get a concussion from that, so refrain from doing any strenuous activity. As for the right hip, a week at most."

Orihime frowned as she hopped onto a nearby bed to sit on, her horribly tempting skirt flying up a bit again.

"That's a long time..." She spoke quietly, letting her slim legs dangle off the higher mattress. Her left leg swung back and forth lightly, shifting the fabric of her skirt up with every swing. Ichigo forced himself to look away from the unintentionally heated scene.

"It is, but you must be patient with your healing process. If you force yourself, you could only make it worse for," the nurse responded, taking a seat at her off-white desk. "Which is why you're going to stay in here until the day is over." Orihime certainly didn't expect to hear that, and upon her words, her eyes grew big and she pouted with fallen features.

"B-But I need to get back to class!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. She only realized that wasn't such a good idea once the throbbing in her head returned with more ferocity. Whimpering, Orihime brought her hands to her head and continued to frown and fight back tears.

"I'm glad to see you understand why you need to stay here," the nurse lightly joked, taking her coffee mug from her desk and bringing it up to her red lips. Taking a sip, she pointed to the bed she was on with a light finger. "So lie down and you have someone pick you up at the end of the day." Orihime glanced to Ichigo on that one, somewhat wondering if he picked up on that little tidbit the nurse had spouted. He did, however he kept his eyes on the nurse.

"Ano, Nurse-san... I don't have anyone to pick me up after school," she spoke quietly, hanging her head as if she had gotten in trouble. The nurse looked her curiously before her eyes growing wide.

"Oh right, you're the one with the special case," the nurse spoke as if she knew all about her situation. Swallowing thickly, Orihime assumed she probably did, and not just from the school records, but from _other_ sources as well. The boy in the wheelchair rose a brow, slightly wonder just what this 'special case' was. He noticed her troubled look and immediately felt a lot worse. He was the one that caused her to be hurt in the first place, and now she didn't have anyone to help her home.

"I'll accompany her to her place," Ichigo blurted out, not thinking before speaking. As of late, it was common to walk with her and Rukia to their respective houses, but to actually offer out loud was something he never did. The nurse looked at him curiously, a small smirk on her face.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-san."

Nodding gruffly and ignoring the burning in his cheeks, Ichigo turned his chair around and prepared to go back to class. It was just before the door when he stopped and turned his neck to glance at her.

"See you after school, Inoue," he spoke quietly, as if embarrassed. She nodded in response, just as quiet as before, and he left. Toying with the chilled ice pack in her hand, Orihime chewed at her bottom lip until the flesh was tender.

"He's a nice boy, isn't he? Kinda gruff, but nice," the nurse commented, giving the girl a smile. She noticed the student's flustered disposition and could quickly determine her thoughts. Orihime smiled and nodded, very grateful for the boy's generosity.

"Yes... He is..."

* * *

Rukia and Ichigo were at Orihime's apartment door, one with a pissed off expression and the other one filled with guilt. It was obvious who was wearing what face. The silence was strong and Orihime couldn't help but fidget under their hard stares.

"Don't forget you're supposed to stay home tomorrow, Inoue," Rukia told her firmly. Orihime opened her mouth to retaliate and tell her friend she was supposed to go to school, but the smaller teen placed a finger to her lips. "I don't want to hear it. Stay home. Going to school won't help you any."

Sighing in defeat, Orihime nodded grimly and frowned lightly. Her tiny fingers gripped her school bag tightly as she bit her bottom lip.

"And you," Rukia continued, scowling at the boy in his chair. "You're going to tell me how the hell she got hurt in the first place on the way back!" She threw a fake punch close to his face, and he surprisingly flinched anyways. The small girl laughed, but Orihime spilled words of worry from her lips.

"K-Kuchiki-san, please don't hurt him!"

But Rukia looked at the redheaded teen in confusion before a wide grin spread on her face. Orihime felt a bit frightened by the look of her face, as the sneer showed as if the girl had a secret. With a flushing face, Orihime inwardly hoped she wasn't remembering her newfound crush over the boy in the chair.

"I won't hurt him... much," Rukia reassured the girl a bit, but Orihime still looked over at Ichigo with concern. With his cheeks growing hot for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day, he wondered why she was _always_ looking at him with sad eyes.

"I-I... Thank you, Kuchiki-san."

With a gruff nod, Rukia turned around and began to head back to the elevator, giving the two just another moment alone. Ichigo kneaded the back of his head nervously before glancing back up to her.

"Um... Be careful with your head. Don't trip on any shoes, okay?" His voice was laced with his own concern, but kept the same 'cool' tone about it as well. Orihime flashed him a bright smile and began to swing her bag by her side. "And..." He cleared his throat, swallowing thickly. "I'm sorry again for earlier. You wouldn't be hurt now if it wasn't my fault."

Shaking her head, causing her hair to follow her, Orihime still smiled, making his face grow exponentially hotter.

"It's really alright, Kurosaki-kun. I'm just glad _you're_ not hurt. But thank you for walking me home," her voice was like music to his ears. However, her words didn't give him much relief anyways, as he still felt bad about it all. "You're very kind." And that compliment caused his ears to burn.

"N-No, I'm not... But, um, I should go...." He spoke quickly, not wanting to grow any more flustered in front of her. Turning around his wheelchair, Ichigo took off so quickly he didn't even see the look on her face. But as he wheeled himself away, her kind voice called out to him.

"Ah, bye bye Kurosaki-kun! Thanks again for your help!"

Rukia bugged him about that all the way home.

.

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	6. Chapter 6

Nothing was wrong with being in front of her apartment, hand hovering over the wood door. Though Ichigo wondered for a short moment whether her neighbors would start to wonder why a boy that looked like a punk, only in a wheelchair, was at her place so often. But he was just a classmate, and there was nothing wrong with a classmate coming by to check up on her and give her the homework she missed for the day. But he still couldn't help but feel weird about stopping by her apartment so frequently.

Swallowing thickly, his raised hand started to shake lightly, wondering nervously whether he should really be here or not. But a quick glance at his schoolbag reminded him he could just knock on the door and once Orihime would come, he could hand her the homework and leave.

Thinking it sounded simple enough, Ichigo tapped at the door with his fist and began to wait for his classmate to answer the door. Only, when loud bangs and thuds were heard, along with another woman yelling gleefully were heard from the inside, his heart started to race and Ichigo could think of all the bad things that could've happened to her. What if she tripped on another pair of shoes and cracked her head completely open?

But his fears were immediately doused upon seeing the door open and reveal a confused Inoue Orihime. Her eyes were widened and her lips puckered into a small pout.

"A-Ah, Kurosaki-kun! Hello!" Orihime greeted him, flashing a bright smile. It wasn't a second later when her cheeks grew pink and she started to pull and straighten out her white baby doll top and short pink shorts, almost like she was fixing her appearance just for him. He couldn't help but turn a bit red himself at her attire, but soon frowned upon noticing the bandage still on her head. Raising an eyebrow, it appeared it had been changed, like it should've been, but had been done very poorly.

Wiggling her bare toes into the plush carpet, Orihime tucked stray strands of hair behind her ear. "C-Can I help you with something?" She asked, snapping him out of his stupor.

"O-Oh, uh, I just came by to drop off your homework for today," he explained, somehow unable to tear his eyes away from her very attractive appearance. He definitely didn't think about what she'd be wearing when he came to give her the homework, but he was sort of glad he didn't. It was obvious he was taken aback by the pale, smoothness of her thighs and legs and the slight drop on the shirt to expose some serious cleavage.

"Oh, thank you Kurosaki-kun, that's very kind of you!" Orihime giggled, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. It should've been clear that she was just as nervous as he, but he was still too blindsided to notice it. "Would you like to come in for some tea?" She kindly offered, stepping back and closer to the door to give him space if he so chose to come in.

"I guess... I could..." Ichigo reluctantly accepted, having a gut feeling it'd end badly somehow. Wheeling himself into her small flat, the first thing he saw was all the clothes scattered amongst the floor and some furniture. The girl said she had to clean due to her aunt coming over, but maybe she decided against it considered her head wound. But then again, this was the same girl who would push and push herself, regardless of injuries she sustained.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun. I didn't mean for it to be such a mess, but my aunt has been throwing her clothes all over the place," she quickly apologized and proceeded to pick up the scattered items, deftly turning red at the more private garments. Ichigo shook his head and brought his eyes to the ceiling for a moment, giving her some time to pick the unmentionables up.

"No, it's fine... I, er, actually forgot about your aunt to be honest... Speaking of her, where is-" He was just about to ask, but was cut off by the same woman's loud voice from before he entered her flat.

"Orihime-chan, do you know where I put my bra? I could've sworn I had it with me, but..." The woman had entered the living room wearing nothing but a towel and a grin. Ichigo's eyes bugged out at the sight of this 'aunt' and he felt his heart rate shoot up. He didn't mean to stare, but the woman had silver gray eyes, just like Orihime's and strawberry blonde hair. His eyes unintentionally drifted downwards and he immediately met a pair of breasts that were quite larger than the flustered friend of his. Not that he looked at his classmate's chest, obviously! He wasn't a pervert... At least, he tried his best to keep his male mind tamed.

"Ah? Is this the classmate of yours you were talking about before?" The woman questioned her niece, pointing to the boy as if he wasn't there. Orihime shoved the clothes from her arms to her aunt's in a matter of seconds, cheeks ablaze.

"Y-Yes, he is, but Rangiku-san! P-Please get dressed first then come out to talk!" Orihime squeaked, turning her aunt around and lightly pushing her back to the bathroom. She felt a bit bad about forcing her relative to the other room, as it was actually quite rude of her, but if she hadn't, surely Kurosaki-kun would start to hate her for introducing her family as lewd!

Ichigo heard protests from the family member as Orihime towed her away, and almost immediately, he could feel his heart rate slowing down. Never had he seen a woman so voluptuous with nothing but a towel before. Orihime bounced back into the room (yes, _bounced_) with an ashamed look on her adorable features.

"Ku-Kurosaki-kun, I'm so sorry..." She apologized quickly, waving her hands frantically in the air. "I really should've made her stay in the bathroom in the first place..." Orihime bit her bottom lip while crossing her arms tightly together, forcing her breasts to push together a bit more. Ichigo felt his cheeks grow even hotter again and wondered if now was the best time to leave.

"Ah! The tea!" Orihime chirped, quickly reminded of the hot drink she promised her friend before he left. Running after the screeching kettle, Ichigo could totally tell he was sweating bullets.

_Like tea will help me now..._

Wheeling himself into the kitchen, he noticed it was actually a lot cleaner than the rest of her apartment. Apparently it was just her aunt that made the flat so terribly messy.

"Did I miss anything important in class, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime inquired as she pulled out a kitchen chair from the table so he could put his chair there instead. With her jumping back and forth in the kitchen, Ichigo watched the small girl busy herself with little things while trying to pay attention to him.

"Nah... It was actually stuff we've done all week anyways, so you shouldn't have any problems," the boy told her indifferently, starting to relax a bit more. As Orihime placed the warm mug in front of him on the table, she smiled brightly at him and he found it hard to utter a small thanks. Moving back to the seat next to him, she held a cup of tea in her own small hands, her eyes following his actions somewhat carefully. Ichigo noticed this and turned a bit pink again. "So... How's your head?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, it's doing great! Rangiku-san tried to help me change the bandage last night, since it needed it, but it didn't work out so well..." Orihime rambled, her own cheeks beginning to burn. "I'll try to redo it myself later, since I couldn't earlier because Rangiku-san is..." Orihime stopped and hummed, as if recollecting her thoughts. Propping her elbows on the table, her eyes hovered to the ceiling while she cocked her head to the side. "Energetic." She finally said.

He hadn't even known this aunt for more than 5 seconds and already knew energetic was a complete understatement.

"I..." Ichigo coughed, clearing his throat. "I could help you with that before I leave, if you'd like... I mean, since I've been bandaging stuff since I was little." Orihime smiled and turned a bright red.

"O-Oh, that'd be so helpful, Kurosaki-kun! But... I wouldn't want to burden you at all..."

"You're not a burden, Inoue."

"E-Eh? B-But-"

"Orihime-chan, you never told me you had such good looking friends!" Rangiku popped back into the room, fully clothed, thankfully. Plopping down into the chair next her adorable niece, the elder woman purred as her eyes roved over the crippled boy. Orihime sputtered her name multiple times and flailed her arms in an attempt to distract her somehow, if it was possible. Ichigo only banged his fist against his chest at his accidental swallowing of tea down the wrong tube. Spinning her head around upon hearing coughing from her friend, the girl immediately stood up and went to assist him by patting his back. It wasn't until she was already helping him when she realized her _hand_ was on his _back_. _H-He... has big muscles..._

"R-Rangiku-san, please don't be so forward!" Orihime squeaked, pulling her hand away with burning cheeks. Part of her wondered if the boy next to her noticed her flustered composure.

"Aww, you're no fun, Orihime-chan," Rangiku pouted, crossing her arms under her incredibly large chest. "So what's your name, boy? Are you even worthy of befriending such a wonderful, cute, perky girl that is my niece?" Ichigo's jaw dropped at the description she gave Orihime and immediately felt bad for her. He was glad she had family to visit her, but her family was _nuts!_

Clearing his throat before speaking, Ichigo inhaled deeply through his nose. "K-Kurosaki Ichigo," he told her, telling himself he just did _not_ stutter. "Er, and I'm not sure?" Rangiku hummed at his answer, her brows furrowing in suspicion. Ichigo rose his own and felt his heart skip a beat. Why did he feel like this aunt was giving Orihime to him with a marriage blessing of some sorts?

"He looks like a keeper, Orihime-chan," Rangiku finally spoke, that serious expression breaking from her face and being replaced with a smile. "If you hurt her precious heart, I'll kick your ass, you hear?" He could only nod dumbly at the strawberry-blonde woman as she pointed a firm finger towards him. It was now that Ichigo wanted to leave before the situation got any worse, but one look at Orihime and her white bandage reminded him he still needed to help her.

"Inoue, did you still want me to help you with the bandage?" He quickly asked, glancing at her shook up form. She turned to face him again and her eyes immediately help immense gratitude.

"A-Ah, yes, thank you Kurosaki-kun!" She chirped, forcing himself from her seat with her palms flat on the table. "Rangiku-san, Kurosaki-kun's going to help me redo my bandage, so I'll be right back," Orihime told her aunt, trying not to sound too enthusiastic about getting away from her overly hyper form for just a quick moment. She loved her family, but sometimes it was just too much to bear!

"Ehhh? But I did a magnificent job!" Rangiku pouted, furrowing her brows together again. Orihime nodded and clapped her hands as Ichigo started to stealthily leave the kitchen.

"Yes, you did! But Kurosaki-kun, you see, he... he... uses healing magic! It's like his hands work wonders!"

Ichigo heard her comment from the living room and his mind shamefully plummeted right to the gutter. She could at least clarify he was helping her _head_, not other parts of her body (as much as his naughty boy mind wanted to think). It was a moment later that Orihime came back out, an awkward smile on her face. "This way, Kurosaki-kun," she told him with bright pink cheeks and a small finger pointing towards the hallway. She started to walk and lead him towards the bathroom, eventually opening the door and allowing him in before herself.

The first thing he noticed was the smell of the bathroom. Normally he wouldn't care, but the particular scent reminded him of a similar smell he always took for granted long ago. She smelled the same as his mother, he noted.

He snapped out of his reminiscing when the door closed behind her slender form, eventually watching her saunter towards the sink and medicine cabinet.

"I-I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun..." Orihime muttered while standing on her toes to reach the top shelf. Since the sink still stood in her way while she attempted to get the bandaging, her bottom stuck out a bit, once again, tempting the redheaded teen with pale, smooth thighs.

_I really, _really_ need to get out of here soon, _he thought, swallowing thickly as he tried to avert his eyes. But those damn legs were just so hypnotizing!

"Er, about what, Inoue?" He asked, still mesmerized by her legs. Part of him wondered just when the hell she had gotten a body like that. He told himself not to drift any higher, but the inevitable happened and his brown eyes accidentally landed on her plump tush, it swaying back and forth as she tried to keep balance while retrieving the item.

A small gasp escaped her as she grabbed the wrapping and she pulled it down with a smile. "My aunt can sometimes be too forward for her own good..." She confessed as she turned around, fiddling with the white roll. Bringing her ashen eyes up to meet his, her amused, yet ashamed expression fell and was soon replaced with a confused one. "Eh? Why are you so red, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked, tilting her head to the side. "Do you not feel good?"

"A-Ah, no... I was just thinking about how... hot... it'll be when I go back outside," he lied, locking his wheels in place and motioning for her to sit down in the spot right in front of his chair. His inner voice chastised him for not thinking of hot weather, but thinking of a hot chick with a great butt he didn't know she had. Merely pouting in understanding, Orihime nodded as she sat down in the directed spot, a small squeak escaping her as soon as she did so. He brought his hands to her head, trembling for some stupid reason, and began to take off the bandage. It was white at first, which was a good sign, but the more he unwound it, the redder it became. He winced at the coppery smell.

"You're very nice..." Orihime commented, folding her hands together tightly on her lap. He shook himself out of his stupor and grew bewildered.

"I'm not nice..." He told her firmly, tossing the bloodied wrap into the nearby trashcan. "Do you have a wet washcloth?" Orihime looked around and found what he was asking for and handed it to him, a small smile on her face.

"No, you're nice," she told him in just as firm of a voice as his. She jumped a bit at the initial touch of the cool washcloth to the open wound on the back of her head, but soon became tolerant of the dull ache. "You brought me to the nurse yesterday, then home. And now today you came all the way over here to give me my homework and you're helping me with my bandage." More heat travelled up her cheeks as she felt him move some of her hair away from the wound to clean better. Her heart started to beat rapidly in her ribcage and she wondered if it'd be okay or not. Would he see the thing that kept as a painful reminder of her past? Or would he just keep on helping her as is?

Deciding he wouldn't notice if she didn't grow alarmed, she sighed, appearing to sound content. "If that's not nice, then I don't know what is..." Ichigo kept quiet, not because he didn't know what to say, but rather, running his fingers through her silky locks proved to be difficult for him. He was just trying to clean her injury! Not preparing to kiss her!

Shifting more hair to the side and over her shoulders, a shudder went through his body as memories of his own flashed over his eyes. The red hair of his mother, the enormous amount of blood... With the mixture of the same scent of his mother's and blood, it made him suddenly very sick feeling. He stopped, hovering the washcloth over her skin when she noticed his actions.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked in that sweet voice of hers, snapping him right back out of those painful memories. He shook it off and resumed, moving more hair from his vision, until almost all of it was in front and over her shoulders, leaving her top part of her back exposed. What left him even more startled and quiet wasn't the fact that her skin was showing again. What shocked Ichigo was the fairly large red scar that started from her right shoulder blade and went diagonally downwards, disappearing under the shirt. He couldn't help but place two fingers on the discolored skin, brows furrowed. _Was this what she was hiding at the pool?_

"... Inoue?" He asked her, noticing her slight jump at his touch. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she bit her lip.

"Y-Yes?" She squeaked, feeling his fingers trail down the scar and stopping just above the hem of the shirt. He knew now and she definitely worried he'd hate her, but at that current moment, she trusted him.

"Your... back..." Ichigo could barely speak out, still aghast at the large thing on her back. He wasn't familiar with the type, but it looked like it really hurt at the point she got it. A noticeable shudder ran through her and she nodded.

"I-I... A-Accident..." She whispered brokenly, eyes stinging again. "In Tokyo..." Ichigo didn't know whether to feel relief or hurt, but to find out this girl, who had appeared to have gone through something traumatic, to still go on with her life without a care... It was interesting to him. His eyes caressed the scar, forcing back thoughts of doing something stupid, but also incredibly tender, like kissing the discoloration. It would be out of character for him and she'd probably get upset at him because of it.

Ichigo didn't say anything else as he put the bloodied washcloth on the floor and took the white wrap from her tiny hands. He wrapped the tender wound lightly with gauze as his mind focused on one thing.

They were so similar, the two. And her startling resemblance to his mother scared him even more. It wasn't that he didn't want to let her into his life, but the way she was worming so _deeply_ into his mind and even his heart made him want to retreat and try to protect what feelings where still sore from his own accident.

As he ripped the bandage and finished it off, he tapped her lightly on the shoulder to inform her he was done. She turned around with pursed lips and nervous eyes glistening with tears. "A-Are you..." She started, turning herself around to face him fully while still sitting on the floor. "Going to hate me now?"

Ichigo could definitely say that wasn't the question he was expecting.

"What? Why the hell would I do something like that?" He questioned her, scowling hard.

"E-Eh? B-But... It's ugly..." She pouted, tears still threatening to fall. "No one would want to be friends with an ugly girl." Ichigo had wanted to say _'You are far from ugly,'_ but he decided it'd be best to let that one slide.

"No one ever sees it, Inoue..." He assured her, tugging lightly at a small strand of hair of hers. "It's fine." Orihime felt her cheeks heat up incredulously and she nodded, a bit of her enjoying the feeling of him being so close to her like this and absentmindedly pulling at her hair. "Besides..." He continued, bringing her out of her thinking. "It's not like being in a wheelchair."

Orihime bit her bottom lip until it was tender and nodded again, feeling a bit ashamed for thinking her unnoticeable scar was bad when it was obvious his noticeable chair was probably worse. "T-Thank you, Kurosaki-kun..." She stuttered, bringing up a hand to wipe at her tears. "You definitely are kind." She managed to smile, bringing that conversation topic back again. He brought a hand to the back of his neck and kneaded the muscles awkwardly.

"We're... friends, aren't we?"

Those words alone sent her heart soaring.

Nodding furiously, she held back the urge to hug him tightly and never let go. "R-Right!" She cheered, enthusiastically pumping a fist into the air. Ichigo fought back a grin at her silly actions and unlocked his wheels. "Thank you!" Nodding, he turned around and faced the door.

"So that means if you ever want to talk... I'm, um... willing to listen," he spoke quietly and seriously, causing the girl's cheeks to heat up. The boy she had a crush on offered to lend an ear whenever she needed one! But was his motive because he wanted to know about the scar on her back? Shaking her head, she knew that probably wasn't the case. He was curious, but he was never one to force something out of someone, even back when they were kids. A quick smile reappeared on her face at the memory of a smaller and happier Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun?" She asked, bouncing to him from behind. He turned around, his cheeks having a tinge of pink as well.

"Yeah?"

"... Thank you..."

"Inoue, I already told you-"

"For everything."

.

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	7. Chapter 7

_Pfft, sorry this is such a late update. I kinda sorta got out of writing for the last month or so and only have attempted to keep writing just the last few days. Most of this was written a few weeks ago, but the ending, where it gets really bad lol, is what I just finished now. So pardon the weird chapter! I'm planning on getting things moving along and questions answered soon here. :) Epic things will commense! But first, I must eat breakfast! I'm starving, lol._

* * *

Inoue Orihime was a girl with many faces. More often than not, she was happy, bouncing around with a grin. Seeing someone so enthusiastic over life sometimes made Ichigo a bit tired, seeing as he was a person who just went with the flow of everything. While he just accepted life for what it was, she embraced it fully, and her activeness in it all was hard to keep up with at times.

But then there were the few times he would catch her with a different expression. There was the very rare face of sadness, one he'd only seen once, which was in her bathroom after he'd bandaged her head, but the truly notable one was where she thought she was alone.

A particular instance was when they both stayed after for class duty after school. Some papers needed to be brought down to the teacher's office, and instead of sending her or both of them down, he offered to take them himself. When he returned, Orihime had placed herself at the front desk, her head rested in her small hands. Her expression admittedly made his heart do a flip, seeing it was one in deep thought. Even now he couldn't explain it at all, but the expression held serenity and happiness at the same time. In actuality, as much as he was scared to admit it, it reminded him of his mother. Regardless, she had only done it a few times, but it was by far the most interesting one he'd ever seen from her.

So things continued to move along for both of them, conversation and menial hellos with the weeks, and Ichigo continued to watch her. After a while, he could pinpoint little habits and quirks she had, beyond the obvious. Such as how she stuck out her tongue while she worked at her homework or how her eyes never drifted off to the side in boredom in any conversation she was in.

Interesting... It was an overused word, but it was one that fit her perfectly.

* * *

Persistence was a strong suit of her aunt. Not so much in her own life, but when persuading others. Rangiku could keep questioning Orihime for hours until she got an answer she liked. Such was involved in the case when the auburn-haired teen finally recovered from her head injury. Rangiku went on about paying the darling boy back for his good deeds or something and deftly ordered the teen to bring him a token of gratitude. At first she suggested giving him a kiss or something just as thrilling, seeing as apparently "no one would be stupid enough to reject a kiss from a cute girl like you". After much discussing and some disappointment from her aunt, Orihime decided to bake cookies for him, with supervision from Rangiku, of course, as to not add any "special ingredients".

So even though she didn't know if he still lived in the same spot or not, she still walked around town, getting a better feel for Karakura. It had been quite a while since she was here, and luckily for her, not too much had changed. Orihime was disappointed, however, to find her favorite bakery to be gone. They always made the best zucchini muffins!

Orihime couldn't keep the smile away from her face as she saw the sign in front of his house, "Kurosaki Clinic". She was glad she didn't get lost on the way there, seeing she wasn't really sure how she'd fare getting home.

She couldn't tell if her smile was a nervous one or an excited one. She'd never seen Ichigo out of school since she got here, so this would be the first. But would he be upset with her because it was as if she stalked him to find his house? He and his family could call the police on her for being a stalker and watching a crippled boy to see where he lived!

But Orihime couldn't hold back as she knocked, instinctively doing it while she rambled on in her head. Even her expression dropped upon finding out she had gone and done that while in such a distant state. Yelping to herself, the girl had to steady herself and not send the cookies flying while she tried to calm her racing heart.

A girl with black hair was the one to greet her, standing just a good few inches shorter than she was. She looked familiar to Orihime, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Stunning, dark gray eyes stared into light ones as the child cocked an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a huffy tone, almost as if she was clearly disturbed by her Orihime's presence.

"I-I, um... Is Kurosaki-kun here?" Orihime inquired, immediately regretting referring to him that way. The entire household was full of Kurosakis! "I-Ichigo-kun, I mean." But secretly, she got a little thrill from calling him by his first name.

The girl looked unbelieving at her until she crossed her arm and spoke sternly, "Come on in, I'll get him for you." Orihime just nodded subtly and stepped through the entrance and into the foyer. The girl kept going through the house and she could eventually hear yelling. "Ichi-nii! You have a visitor!"

The teen was stuck on whether to giggle or to be dumbfounded at the following yelling that could only come from Kurosaki-kun. He was yelling about not yelling in the house, which was definitely quite contradictory, but even with all the anger, she could still tell he was doing it out of familial love. It wasn't too long after when he rolled his way into the foyer as well, stopping a few inches from a slight drop-off. His eyes were wide in surprise as he gaped at her.

"Inoue...?" He questioned, raising his brows as well. "What are you doing here?" Orihime suddenly flushed and wondered if coming here was a bad idea. However, if she went back now, Rangiku would surely punish her for not going forward with all this.

"O-Oh, I just wanted to give you something as-" He held up his hand to stop her before, glaring back behind him. There was nothing there, she noted silently, but he still looked angry.

"Just a second, let's get outside before-"

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOO!" An obnoxiously loud voice burst out of nowhere, startling them both. Orihime just about fell to the ground at the sudden yell, but she regained her composure before actually doing so.

A man with jet black hair and a doctor's coat jumped into the hallway and promptly elbowed Ichigo in the back of his head, almost sending him flying out of his wheelchair. But once the man had slowed down his fervent jumping around, Orihime suddenly recognized him from her old memories, and even let out a small, "Ah!" at the new revelation. This man was Kurosaki-kun's father!

"Dad, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Ichigo roared, deftly locking the wheels of his chair so he wouldn't roll around otherwise. "Can't you see I'm talking to someone?"

"I did, and that's why I came barreling in!" He replied exuberantly, putting his hands on his hips. His sharp eyes darted to Orihime's, making her jump a bit again. "Nice to meet you..." He couldn't quite finish his statement seeing he didn't know her name.

"I-Inoue Orihime," she chirped nervously, gripping her bag with the cookies tightly while extending out the other. "It's nice to meet you, sir." Orihime was inwardly glad she hadn't said, 'Nice to meet you again'. That could've been a mess to get out of.

"Ah, no sir in this household! Call me Isshin!" His father smiled as he spoke, reaching out to grab her hand and shake it firmly. Ichigo could be heard sighing as they shook hands, ignoring more of his dad's ramblings until he suddenly stopped, his voice growing serious. "Wait a second..." Orihime immediately froze, finding it suddenly hard to breathe.

"H-Hai?" Was all she managed to squeak out.

"You look... familiar..." He said grimly, now assessing her form with his eyes. "Have we met before?"

Ichigo, who was previously disinterested with their conversation, suddenly perked up and started listening. His question was all too familiar, but he couldn't recall why at the moment. He paused, taking a quick glance at the girl next to him. Recalling bits and pieces from his memory, he remembered that Tatsuki had asked him the same thing.

"_Isn't she familiar to you at all?"_

Frowning, Ichigo then remembered how she had called him an idiot shortly after that. That definitely was not common. Sure, maybe at first it was awkward around her, but things felt fine now. Then again, she was definitely a pretty person and she was from Tokyo. No doubt Tatsuki and his dad were more than likely mixing her up with some celebrity over there.

"O-Oh no, we haven't, I don't think... Perhaps you're mistaking me for someone else?" Orihime replied shyly, bowing her head down. Isshin kept quiet on the subject, just like the girl from earlier, his eyes disbelieving.

"Probably," he scoffed to himself, releasing her hand. "But Ichigo, you never told me you snagged a hot girlfriend~ I never thought you'd be able to get laid with that wheelchair of yours!" Both teens turned a bright red before the boy himself unlocked his wheels and immediately rammed his father in the shins with the said wheelchair.

"F-Fuck off, old man! She's just a classmate from school!" He roared, successfully making contact with his dad's legs. Orihime winced at the direct attack, imaging just how much it would hurt, but something began to nag at her. Just classmates? Didn't he just say they were friends a few weeks ago? Or maybe she was imagining things then... That was very possible too.

"Which is always a codename for doing the dirt- OW!" Isshin tried to speak again, but Ichigo cut him off with another ramming.

"Go to the kitchen and leave us alone!" Ichigo seethed, pointing hard towards the other direction. Isshin couldn't help but let out a snicker as he left, absolutely loving teasing his son about anything and everything. Suddenly the silence seemed so deafening as the two teens were now kept in quiet with his father gone. "... That asshole..." He grumbled to himself. "Sorry, Inoue..."

Waving her hands to herself, Orihime tried to shake it off with a smile. "O-Oh no, it's quite alright! He seemed funny with his mood swings!"

"You think they're _funny_?" He blanched, eyes growing wide. She just nodded again. Groaning, Ichigo brought his hand to his face in defeat. "Anyways, what did you come here for again?"

Fear and embarrassment struck her heart again, previously dissipating with her amusement of the two family members bickering. "I, um... W-well, y-you were very helpful a few weeks ago with my head, a-and-" She stopped, growing flustered and even more nervous. She felt like she was messing her words up! "I-I really appreciated it, a-and..."

Unable to actually finish, not that she knew what to say anyways, Orihime just began to dig around her bag, almost dropping it entirely. Eventually, she regained the cookies and soon thrusted the gift to him. "H-Here!" She squeaked, hiding her red face by keeping it faced downwards. She didn't see his movement, but she could feel the slight shaking of his hand as he received it from her.

"... You... for me?"

She could only nod her head slowly while doing her best to keep her hands by her sides, rather than on her face trying to hide the embarrassment. He seemed to open her carefully wrapped package extra slowly, as if to torture her, but in reality, he was opening it just a bit slower than normal, if anything. His eyes were full of curiosity and confusion as he eventually finished with the wrapping and opened up the box to find the cookies she had made for him. He looked back up at Orihime, his eyes still wide as his mouth hung open awkwardly.

"... You made these?" Ichigo asked quietly, his eyes never leaving hers. Orihime felt her face turn even hotter as he stared at her so intently. Goodness, it even felt like he could stare right into her soul!

"Y-Yes..." She squeaked, suddenly folding her hands together. "I-I wanted to repay for your help..." Glancing back down at the cookies, then back to her, he made Orihime want to fidget in embarrassment. She had never made cookies before for a boy, and the way he was handling the situation made her want to go back home and hide under her covers.

But then he grinned. Not just a small, playful one, but a rather large, _genuine_ smile. It was something that she'd never seen from him before, not even when she used to live here. Needless to say, such an unfamiliar expression made her feel like she was turning red all the way to her toes. But her inward flailing stopped for a moment as he took one of the cookies out and looked at it amazed.

"O-Oh, you don't need to eat them if you don't want to!" She suddenly cried, making the poor boy jump. Orihime didn't know why she suddenly yelled out, but perhaps it was because she didn't want him to eat one just because she was here.

"You brought these over here just for me, Inoue. I'm not just going to throw them away," Ichigo told her before shoving the cookie in his mouth, quick enough as to keep her from crying out to stop again. But he didn't have the reaction to the treat as she thought he would. Not that she expected him to cry out how delicious her cookies were and that she should bake him more, but the suddenly bitter look on his face made her stomach flip.

"...Salt..." Was the only thing he said, making her freeze instantly.

"Eh?"

"... You put in salt instead of sugar."

"E-EHHH?" Orihime cried out bringing her hands to her face. "O-Oh no, I must've gotten the containers mixed up! I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun!" She quickly apologized, feeling immensely bad for mixing them up. "I-I'll just take them back and-"

"No, its fine," he told her, trying not to grimace too much while eating the cookie.

"But Kurosaki-kun-"

"I said its fine," he cut her off again, folding up the box and closing it tight. "It's the thought that counts, right?" Orihime wanted to protest again, but the look on his face said otherwise. Although it still held bits of slight disgust from the cookie, he smirked now with sincere eyes. He must've understood she tried her hardest, but just made a simple mistake. Again, the look on his face made her blush, so she nodded with a smile to attempt to hide it.

"R-Right!" She chirped, clapping her hands together. "Um, I could try to make cookies again for you, if you'd like. I'll try my hardest to put sugar in this time too!" Orihime offered, really hoping he wouldn't mind and say yes. She figured she must've been one lucky girl, because he nodded back just the same.

"I'd like that, Inoue," he smirked, his thumb carelessly running over the box as he spoke. "So..." Ichigo suddenly seemed to grow a bit flustered himself, as he used his free hand to reach the back of his neck and scratch at it oddly. His eyes seemed to avert to the floor as well while his cheeks grew slightly pinker. Perhaps he was feeling warm or something, she noted as she cocked her head to the side in confusion. "I'll see you tomorrow?" A warm fuzzy feeling bloomed inside her at the thought of talking to him more during school, and she gave him a blinding smile.

"Yep!" Orihime held her bag close as she shifted her feet so they faced the door she originally came into. "Ja ne, Kurosaki-kun!" Although she didn't want to appear that she wanted to get out quick, she left pretty quickly, leaving Ichigo alone in the foyer of his house. Glancing back down at the box in his lap, he couldn't help but feel happiness at her kind gesture. Although when he helped her with her head a while back, he hadn't given it a second thought only because he knew how to wrap up that kind of stuff. Apparently it had meant a lot more to her than he thought, because she even went as far as to make cookies of gratitude.

The cookies... He had never received sweets before, not even on Valentine's day, so it made his face burn when he thought about it. But she was just a kind person returning the favor; there was no reason to get so flustered over it.

But as he pulled out another one, not to eat because of the unfortunately crude taste, but rather just to look at it, he couldn't help but smile again.

"Heh..." He chuckled to himself, looking at the cookie in gratitude. "Thanks, Inoue..."

.

.

.

R & R~


	8. Chapter 8

_Short, but behold! Flashbacks! We finally get around to part of Orihime's past. XD (Pardon all the italicization.)_

* * *

Orihime couldn't help but continually shake as she stared at herself in the mirror. She wasn't cold nor was she sick.

The day was getting close.

Filled with so many bad memories, she only wanted to stay home and cry. However, she was stuck in a tight spot. Should she go to school, she'd only hurt herself further for forcing a fake smile. Should she stay home, she would still receive questions from the people she called friends. Missing school was just not part of her character, but neither was acceptably forcing back painful feelings.

Sighing, Orihime turned around and knocked the light switch off for the bathroom, engulfing that particular part of her place in darkness. As she shuffled her lead-heavy feet towards her bed, she decided she would make the decision in the morning. Right now, she had to cry herself to sleep.

* * *

_Even as a young child, she had a keen eye for things, noticing when some things were wrong. All her questions would be completely innocent, yet Inoue Sora found the greatest difficulty answering them. _

_No... It wasn't that it was a tough question when his younger sister asked. He just didn't want her to know the ugly truth behind their names, nor did he want their family's reputation being passed down to someone so fragile and unknowing; the truth and face that the Inoues were greedy people. If he could he would never tell her of their past._

_Their father was a drunk, always spending his money on gambling and booze. He was a large man with small beady eyes but brilliant auburn hair that usually was kept in a bad comb over. Truth was, the man hated his kids; called them outright accidents. He was the one who started this whole terrible 'legacy' behind their names. But did he care? If he didn't give a passing glance to his own kids, why would he care about his reputation and how it would affect his family?_

_The mother was no better. A small, petite woman with accented curves; her caramel colored eyes and black hair managed to get every and any guy she met, young or old. While the father was a drunkard, their mother sold her body for more money. Forget the fact she was married with two children, she still left them to go sleep around. _

_Inoue Sora was the one to attempt to break the terrible chain of events. Despite the horrendous parents, he still tried to do his best in school, but more importantly, to protect his sister, Inoue Orihime. She was only an infant while he was in high school. Neither of them received much attention from their mother or father, but perhaps it was for the best. The few times the latter ever paid any attention to Orihime was when he slapped her to get her to stop crying, and the former was just never home._

_That was how they interpreted life to be - Harsh, unfair, cruel and painful. Forget ever knowing about love and compassion, because there was none in the Inoue household, and no one seemed to care. _

_That is, until Sora ran off with Orihime when she was only three years old. He had stolen his father's money so nonchalantly to pay for the train tickets. He figured it wasn't like he needed it anyways. Sora's idea of safety and freedom seemed much more worth the money rather than the devil himself spending it on alcohol and cigarettes._

_Karakura Town; It was the soonest train to leave, while looking at the ticket booth. He had only his sister and enough money for both of them to get to this new foreign, but very much protected city. Really, anywhere would've been better than with the two people he could hardly call parents._

_Sora couldn't explain it, really, but the farther away from their original hometown to this 'Karakura', he could feel this immense wave of relief and reassurance wash over him. Perhaps the small bundle in his arms, Orihime, could feel it too, seeing as she hadn't made a peep, only slept the entire ride there. With her so calm, it made him feel even better about his decision to leave. Maybe it would be difficult, but at least they would be free from harm.

* * *

_

"_And then he took the cracker... And ate it!" Orihime squealed, giggling to herself. Despite the mess on her face and hands, she still made a point to throw her hands into the air exasperatedly. Sora could only smile at his four-year-old sister and her enthusiasm._

"_It sounds like you're having a good time at daycare, Orihime," Sora grinned, reaching over to wipe off rice that stuck to her rosy cheek. She gave him a toothy grin back and nodded, bringing her own, still messy, hands to her face and help him discard what was sticking to her face._

"_Uhn! I like when we color," she continued to explain. "Today I drew Onii-chan and me riding a dinosaur, but Kimi-nee told us we couldn't take them home until tomorrow..." Her brother rose from his seat and patted to crown of her head in reassurance._

"_I'm sure it looks great and I can't wait to see it," he told her, taking her empty plate from in front of her. Although as he moved towards the sink, he couldn't help but feel a bit bad, just as he did every other night._

_Ever since they left home, money wasn't always a secure thing in the Inoue household. He had contemplated the idea of asking relatives for a bit of financial support until he got a stable job and had them on their feet better. Perhaps it had been quite a few years since he took Orihime to this new place, but he didn't want to take any chances and have their family alert his horrible parents of their current location. He had a way of income at the moment, along with his series of odd jobs, but the risk..._

"_Onii-chan?" Orihime's sing-song voice perked up, noticing her brother's suddenly quiet disposition. What she didn't notice was the false smile he gave her as he turned back around. _

"_Do you have any new friends there, Orihime?" Sora inquired, his tone of voice as if he hadn't been thinking about anything negative at all. It seemed to be a touchy subject, apparently, seeing as the little girl's cheeks grew a tad redder, but she still kept on a blinding smile._

"_Yes! Did I tell you I've started playing with one of the boys there?"_

_Oh great... Sora rolled his eyes. Not to be overprotective or anything, but he much preferred if she played with the other girls. Even if his sister was only four, he wasn't ready for her to be talking to boys so freely._

"_He usually plays by himself..." Her voice grew quiet, setting her palms down on the flat surface of the table. "He looked lonely without his family around – his mommy, funny daddy, and two little sisters - but then I asked if he wanted to play." Sora only watched her, now with some interest, from the sink as he washed the dishes. _

"_And what did he say?"_

_Orihime grinned ever brighter and threw her hands into the air again. "He said yes! He was kind of slow though, always giving me funny looks. The things he did with his eyebrows made me laugh!" Sora almost dropped a plate, not entirely expecting her to say this boy's eyebrows were a positive suit of his. _

"_I-I see..." He couldn't help but stutter, finding her enthusiasm over a new friend a bit surprising. Orihime was a social butterfly anyway, but never had she been so happy before this one. "What did he look like?"_

"_Oh, that's the best part, Onii-chan! He has orange hair like me!" She chirped, clapping her hands together. "He seems like a mean little boy at first, but he's really nice when you-"_

_A loud knock to their door startled both of them, making Orihime have to stop in the middle of her ramble. Snapping her eyes back to her dear brother, she tilted her head in question. She was more than likely wondering who would be at their house so late at night. Sora seemed unsurprised though, and only motioned for Orihime to scuffle herself off to their bedroom. _

"_I'll answer the door, Orihime," he told her, his voice straining to keep positive. "Why don't you get your pajamas on and get yourself into bed? I'll be there shortly." _

_Her keen sense of things out of the ordinary seemed to kick in now and she hesitated for a moment. Her eyes read deep concern for Sora. Maybe it was because he was starting to shake or maybe it was because his tone and wanting her to leave that made her worry. But she could only nod numbly as she ran to the other room, noting to herself to have his bed ready too for him. _

_The only thing she could hear as she tried to keep herself busy was the sound of her feet hitting the tatami mats and her breath panting hard. It's not that she had been running or overdoing herself, but she could recognize that look in her brother's eyes._

_Trouble._

_It was a simple word for it, yet at the same time, way too complex for the understanding of a four year old. However, Orihime still knew something was up and it hurt her to see her brother go through trouble alone. She couldn't do much, considering her age, but she still wanted to help._

_After throwing her pajamas on, she scrambled to the door and opened it just a crack, enough to possibly hear what was going on._

"_Ya know, I coulda' sworn you said you'd have the money for us by the end of last week." Whoever's voice that was, Orihime couldn't recognize. However, it was deep and low, very menacing indeed._

"_Yes, I know, but I just need more ti-"_

"_What is it with ya and more time? Ya been saying that for a good month now."_

"_I'm getting paid two days from now! I promise you can have it then."_

"_Ya better. The boss don't like to be kept waiting."_

"_... I know." _

_Orihime's eyes grew wide as she heard the door slam from the other side and immediately she knew whatever grown-up conversation her brother was having with the stranger was finished. It was only a matter of time until Sora came back into the bedroom, and she was supposed to be sleeping!_

_She scrambled again back over to the futon and threw the covers over her head. She even added a light snore to her slightly heavy breathing to try and fake out her brother that she was indeed asleep. _

_Sora only turned out the light in silence as he entered the room, his padded feet making soft thuds against the floor until he made his way towards the bedding on the floor. Moments later, he had gotten under the covers just the same, only he immediately held Orihime in his arms. She couldn't help but squeak at the unexpected embrace, which only alerted her brother that she was actually still awake._

"_Orihime..." He mumbled into her bright hair, closing his eyes tight._

"_... Onii-chan?" She asked quietly, gripping his shirt with her tiny hands. _

"_We're going to move tomorrow..." He told her in a similar hushed tone. Sora hated moving around so much like this, but with the hole he had dug them in, it couldn't be helped. "You can go to daycare one last time tomorrow, alright?" He started to shake as he held her in his arms. "Pick up that dinosaur picture of yours... And say goodbye to your friends... Alright?" He had dragged his own young, innocent sister into all of this. The least he could do was allow her to say her last goodbyes._

"_B-But... Won't I see them after that?" She squeaked, feeling her own tears sting at her eyes. "Aren't we just moving to a new house here?" Shaking his head, he stroked at her auburn hair; the one thing he was glad she inherited from their parents. She looked lovely with it._

"_No... Not this time..." Sora responded almost silently. "We're going to someplace else... Some place big..."_

"_... Like that Tokyo place?"_

_He pulled away from his sister and gave her a small smile, eyes shining with sadness. "That sounds perfect, Orihime..." He told her, giving her praise. "But we need sleep first, right? We'll need all the energy we have to go on our trip tomorrow." Nodding into his chest, she stifled her own sob as she tried to close her eyes with hope to sleep. She really didn't want to leave her friends here, but she needed to stick by her brother too._

_But the more Sora could feel her hot tears melt into his shirt, the more guilt he felt.

* * *

_

"_Do you… have to go?" The redheaded boy asked the little girl, a sad expression on his face. Orihime really didn't want to cry in front of her new friend, but she was missing him already. He was so nice and she thought she'd never see him again._

"_Y-yes…" She hiccupped, wiping away constantly returning tears. "I-I'm going to miss you-" He cut her off with a quick hug._

"_It's okay!" He suddenly spoke exuberantly, a smile on his face. "We're friends! We'll definitely see each other again someday." The boy pulled away, grinning at her red face. "Right, Okaa-san?" He looked up to his beautiful mother behind him. She nodded and smiled as well, putting a hand on her son's shoulder._

"_Of course," she told the two of them. "You'll definitely see us again. And don't worry; we'll welcome you back with open arms." The smaller girl sniffled and began to smile herself._

"_R-Right… Thank you for being my friend," she whispered, pulling him into another shaky hug. He turned bright red and patted her awkwardly on the back. She held onto him tight until her own guardian called for her. Moving away, the girl still smiled, although she still looked sad while doing it._

"_Bye bye, Ichigo-kun. See you later."_

_._

_._

_.  
_


	9. Chapter 9

_So... This is a longer chapter, so yay for you guys, but... I want to say this is where things get serious and stuff starts to become unraveled and very, very dark. XD At least, this chapter's tone is incredibly dark and I don't think it'll be easy to go back to the fluffy, getting-to-know-you kind of stuff Ichigo and Orihime had before. Things will change, whether it's for better or for worse!_

* * *

Things were so oddly quiet today. Ichigo sat behind Orihime, like every other day, but he thought it was peculiar she didn't do more than smile and mumble a 'good morning' to him. It was definitely out of character for her, which made him concerned. At least, he would've been more concerned if he wasn't stuck in his own, deep thoughts. The ones that had him staring down at his desk, blocking everything else out around him.

The teacher started with her lesson, which Ichigo could see clearly, but he wasn't really paying attention. He more or less zoned out or stared out the window, unfazed by the learning around him. Even if he did want to focus, he knew he wouldn't be able to. His mind was already stuck on tomorrow's date.

This reminded him... He'd need to alert his teacher of his upcoming absence. He knew she wouldn't mind, only because the school had pardoned it before. Nodding to himself, he decided he'd talk to her later.

Only, he had gotten to Ochi-sensei roughly around the same time Orihime did, leaving them both at her desk. Ichigo was considerate and offered to let her talk to her first.

"Um, I just wanted to let you know I'm going to be gone tomorrow," the girl's voice was quiet as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Ichigo raised a brow at her almost silent notification, finding it peculiar she was going to be absent.

Suspiciously, the teacher's face fell in understanding and she nodded, giving the girl a soft smile. "Of course, Inoue-san. Take all the time you need." All Orihime could muster up was a half-hearted smile before nodding to her in silent thanks, her feet taking her towards the door with slow steps.

Rolling himself closer to the teacher's desk, Ichigo cleared his throat before making his own request. "I, uh, am going to be gone tomorrow too," he informed her coolly. She raised a brow, a quizzical look in her eyes.

"And your reason?" She inquired, intrigued as to why he was informing her. Ichigo's eyes narrowed slightly and he felt his heart fall slightly. He could stand thinking about it in his head, but when it came to talking about it, he was still sore.

"Same reason as last year, Ochi-sensei," he grumbled, dragging his eyes from hers to just stare at the desk. There was a few minutes of silence before the teacher gasped, realizing what it was.

"Oh right," Ochi sighed, plastering on an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki, I just about forgot."

_Yeah, that part was pretty obvious._

"Its fine," he scoffed, turning his wheelchair around to go towards the classroom door. "Thanks for understanding." Ichigo didn't want to stay for more awkward conversation, so he left entirely. Although he was still mulling over his own thoughts, he couldn't help but drift back to Orihime, curious as to why she wasn't going either. Lucky for him, she was just finishing up talking to Tatsuki when he exited the room.

"Inoue!" He called out, getting her attention. Turning her head around, she widened her eyes as to who was calling for her and her cheeks flushed a dull red. Waving good-bye to her friend, she took leisurely steps towards the crippled teen.

"Hi, Kurosaki-kun!" She chirped, plastering on a smile. Sitting behind her all day made him aware that she was not as happy as she was attempting to be now, so it was only clear she was forcing herself. "What's up?"

Scratching the back of his neck, Ichigo's mind quickly raced for a way to talk to her without being awkward. Him, Orihime, and Rukia usually all walked home together, but he didn't want Rukia to be there when he asked Orihime about why she would be absent tomorrow. He didn't have a reason other than it just felt like it wasn't something she wanted to know. It was some internal intuition he had.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you a bit," he asked, his cheeks growing to sport a faint blush of his own. "Just... you and I..." Orihime's face grew redder and she averted her gaze to her suddenly interesting shoes.

"Sure..." She replied slowly, trying to calm her suddenly racing heart. The organ in her chest had been on a rollercoaster today, alternating between beating fast over Ichigo, then slowing and figuratively falling because of her own thoughts. "Kuchiki-san's staying after for an art thing anyway," she mentioned. "So we can go home like normal and talk." Orihime's eyes rose again to meet his, almost flinching when she saw his dark brown irises staring intently into hers. _I-It's just Kurosaki-kun and I today..._

Things fell pretty silent after that, only the sound of students around them chattering away around them. Orihime was going to take the stairs and meet him downstairs, but he urged her it was okay to take the elevator with him. She really didn't want to take advantage of the elevator for the disabled, but he seemed to think it was okay, just once.

So it was still quiet after the two entered the relatively small elevator. With Ichigo in there with his wheelchair, there wasn't too much room for Orihime to keep herself distanced comfortably for both of them. She was stuck standing a good few inches away from him, almost feeling his body heat radiating onto her.

"S-So..." Orihime started, clearing her throat before continuing. "Was there something specific you wanted to talk about?" Pressing the nearby button for the first place, she had to lean across Ichigo a bit in order to hit it.

"Oh, uh..." In all actuality, Ichigo almost entirely forgot his reason for calling her out, too distracted by her being so close. "I just..." The elevator started to move and he paused, collecting his thoughts for a short moment. "I guess I was sort of wondering why you're not going to be here tomorrow." He wasn't going to be either, but it still immensely intrigued him.

"You heard what I told Ochi-sensei?" Orihime breathed, her eyes widening. Ichigo could only nod guiltily as he brought his hand to the back of his neck once more.

"Yeah, I was waiting-"

The ding of the elevator cut him off and the doors opened, letting in noisy chatter from students down on the first floor. Glancing back at him, Orihime flashed him a quick smile before stepping out. Her eyes said they should wait to continue until they passed all the loud people. He silently agreed while she created a path through the people for him to go through. His eyes never left her school-clad form as they made their way out into the school yard and outside the gates. Once there, the girl let out a happy sigh and pumped her fist into the air.

"We made it out!" Orihime chirped, still smiling for him. "Ah! What was it you were going to say? You were waiting...?" She asked, her voice gone from previously enthusiastic to calmed and understanding. Ichigo started pushing himself along, recollecting where he left off.

"I was waiting to tell Ochi-sensei I'd be gone tomorrow too," he told her indifferently, his mind starting to wonder how much information he should divulge. Right now, he didn't see much harm in telling her, only because they were already good friends and he felt he could trust her.

"Really?" She gaped in awe, surprised he'd be absent as well. "Why are you going to be absent?" Swallowing thickly, he stopped in his tracks and turned to her to give her a tense smile. It was now or never.

"Tomorrow's the day my mom died," he openly admitted. He would've expected her to appear sad at the news, but she looked much more depressed than he would've ever guessed. Her eyes kept big and worried, but her form fell slightly and she raised a hand to hold close to her chest.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun... I-I'm so sorry..." She mumbled, feeling stinging tears around her eyes. "I didn't mean to-"

"What about you?" Ichigo cut her off, not wanting pity or sympathy, even if he was good friends with this girl. "I mean, if you're willing to tell me about it..." Orihime seemed to freeze frigid upon his question and her grip on her schoolbag grew tight. She trusted him this boy in front of her, and not just because they were friends and she liked him a lot now. She knew he was a good, trustworthy person ever since they had met years ago.

Trying to relax her form, her hand subconsciously rose to wipe at her eyes and she forced a sniffle back. Ichigo, on the other hand, just realized he had made her cry and it made him incredibly uncomfortable. It wasn't that tears made him feel off, but he had no clue how to handle Orihime crying.

"O-Oi, don't cry, Inoue! I didn't mean to-"

"...also." She had said something, but mumbled off so he wasn't able to hear all of it. He had to strain himself closer to hear it again. "M-My brother... also died tomorrow."

With his eyes widening, Ichigo sat back in his seat fast, not expecting _that_ answer out of all things. He wanted to ask her, 'You're kidding, right?', only because how odd would that the two, whom were friends now, both had relatives pass away on the same day? It was a terribly rude question though, and he definitely refrained from asking anything like it.

"Is your aunt still around?" He asked instead, his mind racing to what she would be doing tomorrow. He already knew he was going to visit his mother's gravesite, but with how sad death was, he wanted to know what Orihime was doing.

Shaking her head, Orihime sniffled again and brought her hand away from her face, instead looking at her off-white shoes. "Rangiku-san's my great aunt, actually... And she's in the next town over for an important business meeting." Forcing an awkward smile, Orihime kept her eyes away from Ichigo's for fear she would burst into tears for some odd reason. Maybe it was because she never told her friends about her family and death before. "So I'll be home alone, praying for Onii-chan instead."

"Like hell you are," he cut in without thinking. "You shouldn't be alone." He spoke from experience, and suffering with pain was so much worse than being with people. "Look," the crippled boy started, glancing at her hand hanging to her side for a moment. "My family always goes to visit my mom's grave every year. I guess it could possibly be weird for you, since you've only seen a bit of my family once, but you should come along."

Orihime was about to open her mouth to defiantly reject his offer, seeing as she didn't want to intrude on their family outing, but he unthinkingly grabbed a hold onto that hand, making her raise her head in confusion and shut her mouth instead. "I don't want you to be alone, Inoue," he admitted, blowing out a quick breath. "I understand... The pain around this day is always unbearable sometimes... I just don't want you to suffer without someone there to help you feel better."

With a noticeable pink blush dusting her cheeks, her lips pursed as her brows furrowed from her own thoughts. "I-Is it... really okay?" She asked, nervous as to what could happen. Ichigo nodded gruffly and gave her hand a quick, reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Besides, I'm sure my mom will really like meeting one of my friends," he told her, mustering up an odd smile. "I, uh... I've never brought a friend with before, so this'll be a first for both of us."

Glancing down embarrassedly at his hand connected with hers, Orihime noted that was another first too. Two in one day! Giving him a weak smile, she nodded and couldn't help but be a bit excited at how she would be one of the first of Ichigo's friends to meet his mother. She knew she meant a lot to him, because his eyes seemed to light up a bit when she was occasionally mentioned.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun..."

* * *

Orihime showed up at the Kurosaki household around 8 in the morning, wearing a light gray baby doll dress with a darker black cardigan settled on her shoulders and black flats on her feet. She normally wouldn't have dressed with darker, neutral colors, but if she was going along to visit a family grave, she thought she should wear some sort of mourning color. Or maybe it was because she was mourning over her brother's death. It was probably both.

She could only mull over her own thoughts as they drove in the car towards the gravesite. While the rest of occupants in the car were talking animatedly, Orihime resorted to staring out the window. She was a person who normally would've kept up with the conversation and inputted her own two cents, but she was quiet instead. It wasn't that she was nervous to talk with the rest of his family. They were all good people, she thought. It was just that this day always seemed to replay horribly in her mind and it kept her silenced.

Sighing lightly and closing her eyes, she couldn't help but let a stray tear roll down her cheek, not entirely caring to wipe it away. She was sad and as much as she'd want to hide it, she wouldn't be able to. The rest of his family had been informed, Ichigo told her, not to mention her brother and reasons for accompanying them. All the really needed to know anyway was that she needed company.

The feel of Ichigo's calloused hand on top of hers caused Orihime to open again, rolling to the side to glance at the boy himself. Due to the teens sitting in the back seat, Yuzu and Karin, which Orihime found their names out earlier, in addition to Isshin, couldn't see them or much of their actions unless they turned around. Partially, Orihime was glad they were driving in a van.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked quietly, his voice low enough so the others couldn't hear him. She looked own to their now joined hands, feeling the all too familiar blush creeping to her cheeks again. His simply gesture made her heart race further, not entirely helping the present ache over her brother. More than anything, she wanted to know why he was holding her hand like he was. Was it from similar sympathy? Or was it something more than she wasn't looking into? The latter just seemed like wishful thinking.

Sighing again, she nodded to him slowly and kept her eyes focused on her lap. Maybe she shouldn't have come along with his family during this trip. Besides mourning for her brother, she thought she'd be expected to show some grief towards their mother as well, out of generosity. But on the other hand, with how they were acting, it seemed like they treated this trip as if they were just visiting her in another town.

Orihime didn't watch when he did it, but she could feel Ichigo lace his fingers with hers, holding her hand in a different manner than before. It made her blush harder and look back to him out of the corner of her eye. He had pressed his chin into the palm of his other hand was currently staring out the window, looking indifferent even. Swallowing thickly, she diverted her attention back out the window, only one thing on her mind.

_... I wish I knew what he was thinking right now...

* * *

_

Karin and Yuzu were silently praying to their mother at this point, with their father Isshin going on about some fun gravestone dominoes. Orihime didn't think it was such a great idea, but he seemed so enthusiastic, she didn't dare interrupt their fun. Her hands were folded together in front of her, silently making her own prayers and greetings for his mother, while sending her own to her brother.

It was getting difficult, she noted. Her eyes and throat were beginning to hurt now, from holding back all the unshed tears. She told herself, _be happy like Kurosaki-kun's family. I should be glad Onii-chan's in a better place now and celebrating how he lived, not mourning how he died._ It seemed sort of hard considering their life was far from easy before he died.

Orihime wanted to sit down for a while, very preferably alone. Cry her eyes out for a while, perhaps, and do what she did every year – miss her brother extremely and cry until she had no more left to shed until next year. But she didn't want to outright leave to go find a bench here, it'd be very rude. Ichigo was very kind in allowing her to come along and so far his family had been nothing but generous.

But it was outright hard. She was okay with exposing her disheartened expressions before, but an onslaught of tears was something she wanted to hide. Ichigo was the _last_ person she wanted to cry in front of.

"I-I'll be right back..." Orihime quickly mumbled, turning her heels towards the opposite direction to leave, only for a while. She apologize profusely to Ichigo later, because she needed some alone time now. Searching for a bench somewhere with tear-filled eyes, she wondered if Rangiku would've been kind enough to lend her lap for Orihime to cry on back home. After all, she knew the story from the officials back in Tokyo, and more. Once she was of age, she even included why Sora raised Orihime on his own and what became of her parents.

After discovering a small, secluded seating area, Orihime quickly plopped herself down and sniffled to herself, fighting back the tears she'd been wanting to let out for so long. Now that she was alone, even though she wanted to cry, she still felt this wasn't the best place. She was alone, but she wasn't _entirely_ alone. The Kurosaki family was still here and no doubt would search for her if she didn't come back soon.

"Inoue?" A quiet voice called out to her, making the girl whip her head around to find the one person she'd been wanting to more or less hide away from right now.

"K-Kurosaki... kun..."

He gave her a small, sheepish smile as he wheeled himself into the spot next to the bench, locking his wheels into place after getting situated. "Too hard?" Was all he asked.

Ashamedly, Orihime's head darted back to her lap, her small fingers gripping her flimsy handbag. She desperately hoped she wouldn't have to say anything back, only because she feared her voice would crack if she tried.

"I get the feeling..." Ichigo told her openly, settling into his seat a bit more. "It's... sort of weird for me to explain... But I thought it was incredibly hard to admit she was gone. Even years after..." Orihime looked back to Ichigo now, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "I still sometimes can't believe she's gone."

Raising a hand to wipe away her falling drops, Ichigo stared at her intently, but just watching her carefully. Whatever happened or how her brother died, it must've been such a shock to her system that she was still unable to get over it.

"... I-It's all my fault..." Orihime whispered, stuttering and her voice cracking under the strain. "O-Onii-chan wouldn't be dead if I wasn't born!" Without a second thought, Ichigo's hand darted out to grab at the one dabbing her tears away. It was wet from her crying, but he definitely didn't want her to think she was the cause for _anyone's_ death. Even murder was bad, but this girl in front of him was far too good to commit such a crime.

"Oi, don't say that!" He told her firmly, not wanting to make her cry further. She shook her head and sniffed, disagreeing. She attempted to plaster on a flimsy, trembling smile, but it quickly crumbled and reappeared in a pattern, as if she was torn between putting on a façade and showing her true feelings.

"Onii-chan had to raise me on his own," she blurted out, letting the words start to travel freely. "Our parents... They weren't around and he took me away... But it was too much," she confessed, staring at him directly. "W-We had so many money problems and we met so many bad people because of it..." Orihime's voice grew to a hush, silencing herself, refraining from continuing on. Ichigo's insides were twisting up at the brief mention of her past, unknowing of how someone so kind could have been so exposed to so many sins.

"Inoue..." He called out her name softly, now refusing to let go of her hand again. "What happened?"

Her brilliant eyes stared hard into his, showing nothing but fear in them. After sighing heavily, her eyes drifted down to their joined hands. She held onto his larger hand tightly, as if searching for reassurance and relief.

"I-It was seven years ago today..." _But I can still remember it like it was yesterday.

* * *

_

_Like every day, Inoue Orihime went to school and came back home, not speaking to anyone nor making eye contact with anyone. She knew better than to come in contact with others. Orihime and her brother lived in a shady neighborhood, but the rent was extremely cheap. Sora did just the same, going to work and coming home. The only people they'd talk to was each other, but that was only when Sora was home, which wasn't all that often._

_There was a particular day that Orihime felt an odd sickness in her stomach. Her insides flipped and flopped for some unknown reason. It wasn't like she had eaten anything odd, when she did eat at all. She also felt like something big was going to happen, but she couldn't quite tell._

_After school, she sat at the small circular table in their ridiculously small apartment, working on the homework she had received for the day. There were some rather difficult multiplication problems she was having trouble with when Sora came through the door, home unexpectedly early than she was used to. His skin was pale and eyes were sunken in from lack of sleep, with the general air from the man's slumped form that he was terribly tired and stressed._

"_Orihime..." He mumbled as he slid to rest against the door. "We're moving again. Pack your things." With widened eyes, the little girl, only nine years old, immediately left her homework forgotten to go to their bedroom and pack her treasured items. She didn't have much, but what she had she kept close to her. A pink toothbrush, her favorite story book, and a drawing she had from when she was little. _

_Orihime's heart thudded in her chest hard as she started wondering about the people at her school. They moved so frequently, yet the time here was oddly longer than any other place they'd been to. For once, she felt like she could actually get to know the other kids and get new friends. Truth be told, the only true friend she could remember was the little orange-haired boy from daycare long ago. She only remembered him so fervently because he was the closest person she'd ever gotten close to._

_Hoisting her little pink backpack over her small shoulders, Orihime made her way back towards the door, towards her brother. Only right as she was about to turn the corner when she heard a loud, booming voice arguing with her brother._

"_Where's the fucking money?" The man yelled, his footsteps loud against the floor. The stranger startled her so bad, she dropped her bag and pushed herself flat against the wall._

"_I told you before, I don't have it!" Sora yelled back, his voice hoarse. "You can't expect me to-"_

"_Expect you to what? Borrow over 10 million yen from us and almost never pay us back? You know how the boss hates to be kept waiting." At the point, Orihime threw her hands to her mouth to muffle a squeak. She was still learning just how big numbers could be, but she knew a million money-wise was a _lot_. How could've Sora taken so much?_

"_Tell Aizen I've been working on it..." Sora spat. "But for now, I'd appreciate you'd get out of my face before-"_

_A sickening, resonating sound rang through the apartment, promptly cutting Sora off. It was some sort of blood-curdling crunch mixed with a sloshing sound that made Orihime want to choke from the sound alone. With adrenaline racing through her, she rounded the corner she was previously hiding around, crying out his name._

"_Onii-chan!" She cried, frantic once she saw her brother's body lying on the floor, his head tiredly turning to face her. There was a large gash on the left side of his chest, where his heart should be, with an ungodly amount of blood oozing out and onto the carpet. The sight alone made her want to throw up, eyes horrified at the sight of her brother dying._

"_Tch... You know Aizen isn't a patient man," the man scoffed as he cleaned the blade of his just used knife, glancing over to Orihime now. "But what do we have here? A little princess protecting her brother?" Orihime flinched and remained frozen, staring into the man's dangerous blue eyes. She wanted to protect her brother, but what could she do? She was too young to do anything. _

_The man reached out to grab her arm, immediately making her unfreeze and thrash all over, trying to get out of his grip._

"_L-Let me go!" She yelled out in distress, her tears falling hard and fast. After managing to get him to let go, he let out a string of curses as Orihime attempted a mad dash towards the door. Her hand was on the handle, ready to leave and go get help when she felt a searing hot, slash of pain from her right shoulder down to her left hip. The man had used his knife to cut her deeply, and was now gripping her shoulder to keep her from leaving._

"_You little bitch," he grinned sinisterly. "We can't have you going off and telling the police about what happened here." Heavy sobs escaped her as she glanced back at her brother on the floor, her vision starting to grow foggy._

"_Go... Run!" Sora ordered her, his half-dead eyes pleading for her to run away as fast as she could. Even though the man had a terribly hard grip on her, she quickly stomped on his foot as hard as she could, somehow managing to get him to release her and tend to his now bruised toes._

_Slamming open the door, Orihime raced down the halls and out of the apartment complex, wincing and panting hard from the fresh injury now on her back. More yelling and cursing could be heard behind her, but she ignored it. She needed to get to get to police, out of town, _anything_. She needed to leave and never look back, despite hearing and practically seeing her brother killed in front of her._

_Wheezing as she ran, tears blinded her vision further as she darted through streets, weaving through busy traffic. _

_She had left her brother to die just so she could live. _

_The pain on her back was horrendous, but the pain in her heart was even worse. If she was never born, they would've never had money problems. If she was never born, Sora would've never had to deal with raising a kid sister on his own. _

_After crossing a sidewalk without looking across, she heard a loud crash and snapped around to see what had happened. Even because she had blindly run without looking, a gray car had crashed into a light pole, with two people in the front that seemed to be not moving._

_Sobbing harder, she could only run now. She had more than likely killed another two people because she was careless. Her life wasn't worth that of three others, and she was feeling incredibly sick of what had just happened._

_As she reached the train station, a conductor halted her, asking for her ticket. Orihime shook her head, tears falling to fast and a stutter too unmanageable to properly speak. She desperately wanted to tell him she didn't have a ticket, but she _needed_ to go far away from here. After noticing the copious amounts of blood on her shirt, the conductor called over some nearby authorities to help, but that was everything turned black and she fell forward.

* * *

_

_When Orihime came to, she was in a bright white room with an IV needle stuck in her arm. She was lying on her side, she numbly noticed, as she attempted to flutter her eyes open further. But a sharp pain raced through her as she tried to move, making her cry out in despair with those all-too familiar tears reappearing._

"_Its okay, Orihime-chan..." A gentle woman appeared by her side. She had gray eyes and strawberry blond hair, with an obviously prominent chest. She placed a light hand on her auburn head, patting it slowly. "You're okay now..."_

_Biting her lip, Orihime was starting to feel fatigued again. "W-Who...?" She croaked, her throat sore. She could see this new angel of hers smiling kindly before pressing a kiss to her hair._

"_I'm Rangiku... And I'll be taking care of you from now on," the woman told her quietly, the generosity and kindness making Orihime's heart hurt. "But for now... Sleep."_

_And she did just that.

* * *

_

"M-Mou... I-I'm so sorry," Orihime apologized, her hands pulling away to wipe away the many tears now falling freely from her brilliant orbs. "B-But I can't... I-I just can't..." She couldn't finish her sentence, so she trailed off. She hadn't dared look at Ichigo, only because she feared she'd burst into more tears. This was the first time she'd told anyone, aside from her aunt, about what happened with her brother, and her feelings she'd been trying to become numb over were exposed and raw again, as if the accident had just happened yesterday.

Sobbing to herself, she could hear Ichigo stirring in his seat, but she made no attempt to look up. Aside from the pain from her own brother's death, she feared he would no longer be friends with her because of her past money problems and the accident. No one would want to be friends with someone so messed up.

But what surprised her most was when Ichigo took a hold of her shoulder and pulled her into a tight hug, leaving almost no room for her to breathe. "K-Kurosaki-kun!" She squeaked, her face being squished into his shoulder. With one hand on the back of her head and the other on the small of her back, she could only hear Ichigo's deep breathing against her ear as he held her.

"Its okay, Inoue..." He grumbled into her hair, holding her closer, if it was possible. "It's okay to cry..." With her eyes widening, she realized Ichigo wouldn't reject her because of what happened, but he was _accepting_ her, flaws and all. It was like he disregarded what kind of person she was before, and focused on who she was now.

Digging her fingers into the fabric of his shirt tightly, Orihime wept on his shoulder until she couldn't cry any more. And for that entire time, Ichigo kept her close and never let go.

.

.

.


	10. Chapter 10

_An update after so many months? Oh my god, it's impossible! Basically, my excuse is school and lack of time generally. Sorry for the wait, enjoy!_

* * *

It was all so surreal now, being in Orihime's apartment. They hadn't spoken much since they got back from visiting his mother's grave, but Ichigo felt like everything was so different now. It was as if they had grown closer together. It was tragic, but he thought it was amazing how it felt like the dynamics of their relationship had changed due to her story.

Inhaling deeply, Ichigo glanced to his left, taking a quick peek at Orihime, whom was sitting next to him on her couch, watching TV with a fleece blanket on her lap and a mug of tea in her hands. She looked tired, he noted, but he supposed that was to be expected. She had a mentally exhausting day, with telling him her brutal past. Still, he felt glad she told him. It made him feel like she trusted him so much as to divulge such tender information.

His eyes travelled to her back, and although he couldn't physically see it at the moment, he pictured in his head the scar she had on her back. Ichigo's stomach clenched at the idea of her getting hurt, both mentally and physically, and he knew that scar probably caused more pain to her than ever imaginable. In actuality, it must've acted as a reminder of what had happened; one that she could never live down.

"Kurosaki-kun," Orihime mumbled, looking at her mug in her hands instead of the TV. Coming out of his thoughts, he looked at her intently, watching her every moves as she spoke. "I... Thank you for letting me come along today," she spoke softly, her hands shaking slightly. "And for listening to me ramble on before." She smiled awkwardly, her expression reading as if she was in the wrong. "I'm sure it wasn't something you planned on doing today, hearing such a depressing thing."

"It's okay, Inoue," he replied in a similar, low tone. He was hesitant with his actions, but he inwardly figured there'd be no harm in reaching over to hold her hand reassuringly. A small blush threatened to rise to his cheeks, even though he told himself now was not the time to get flustered. "I'm actually, uh, glad you told me." He wouldn't actually finish his sentence outwardly, but he mentally admitted that it made him feel like he was important to her.

Orihime looked down at their joined hands and how their fingers were laced together, and her face burned a little hotter. Nervously, she set her mug on a nearby side table and instead clutched the blanket in embarrassment. "Y-You don't think I'm... a terrible person?" The latter part of the sentence was a significantly lowered, and she refused to look at him.

"What? Why would you even say that?" His voice rose higher in questioning. How could she even ask such a thing? Orihime's face was a noticeable red, and she now felt embarrassed for asking what she did. She truly felt like she was a bad person for what she did, accident or not.

"Because I left Onii-chan to die..." she whispered back to him, blinking a few times to dissipate the tears that started to collect on her lashes. "And I killed those other people in the car by running out in the street." The memory of the smoke coming out of the car and the seemingly lifeless bodies came into her head, and she gasped lightly, still fighting the tears.

Grumbling at how he was unable to stop her from crying or believing she wasn't a bad person, Ichigo squeezed her hand. "Inoue, you didn't mean to."

She didn't respond, and merely sniffled as she bit her bottom lip. Her hands shook lightly as she kept both on his one, as if it was some sort of lifeline. He could feel her uneasiness through her small hands, and it started to feel worse himself for not comforting her earlier on.

"Inoue... Look at me, please?" he requested, his voice no louder than a hushed mumble. When she didn't comply yet again, he used his other hand to cup her cheek and bring her gaze up to his. There was a pain in his chest at her extremely saddened expression. "Stuff just happens," he tried to explain, attempting not to get distracted by her big eyes staring at him and her rolling tears. "We can't help it when it does, but we can only move forward." He tried to smile for her a little, to comfort her. "Would your brother want you to be sad like this?"

Those words seemed to spark something in her, particularly the latter part of the statement, and a choked sob escaped her as she continued to look at him. "K-Kurosaki-kun..." she murmured.

Sighing lightly, Ichigo found that pulling her into another hug seemed to be the key to making her feel better. Orihime willingly buried her head into the crook of his shoulder and neck and quivered as she sighed the same, shuddering quietly. He let her stay like that for a while, and was forced to fight back a blush at the woman in his arms. Despite the circumstances, it felt nice to hug her. With his arms around her shoulders, he thought it seemed like she was in a place she ought to be.

"... Y-You're too good to me, Kurosaki-kun," she mumbled against his skin after a while. "You must be some sort of superhuman, being so kind to someone like me." Ichigo couldn't help but crack a small smile at her choice of words.

"Nah, no superhuman," he told her, joking around. "Just a strawberry." Orihime let out a tinkling laugh, which admittedly warmed Ichigo's insides when he heard it. He hadn't heard it for what seemed like forever, so it was nice to hear it again. With Orihime pulling away, she brought a hand to wipe away he tears, but she had a smile on her face. "It's nice to see you smiling again, Inoue," he complimented additionally, tripping over his words a little.

It was amusing to see her face turn bright red at his words, and he couldn't help but smirk lightly at her reaction. "W-Well, Onii-chan probably wouldn't want me like this," she confessed, blowing out a sharp breath. "So I'll be happy instead."

Smiling with her, Ichigo thought that with her being happier now, he felt a little better too. Even as Orihime, obviously nervous, reached out to hold his hand again, he experienced warmth in him that he could've sworn he hadn't felt since his mother was around. It was so different, so unusual and foreign to him at the moment, he wasn't sure quite how to handle it. But on the flip side, it felt so good, he wasn't sure he wanted to 'handle' it.

Ichigo found himself growing closer to the auburn beauty just within reach, and Orihime didn't seem too fazed by the sudden lack of distance. In fact, she seemed to be okay with the rapidly closing space between them, with her eyes half-lidded and staring at what he thought what she was looking at was his lips.

It was such a bold, unplanned move, but as their lips met in a small, chaste kiss, both seemed more than okay with it. Orihime's hands, which held on of his in her lap, squeezed it lightly and hummed softly in enjoyment. Ichigo's free hand trailed up her forearm, initially leaving her skin tingling in his wake. Resting on her upper arm, Ichigo held it tightly, but still gently as he pulled her closer.

Pulling away for a moment, the two looked at each other, their expressions both unreadable to one another. Orihime blinked slowly, taking in what had just happened, but was soon surprised to see him come closer to her again. Letting her eyes flutter closed, she allowed him to kiss her again, this time his head angled ever so slightly to deepen the kiss. Orihime sighed in delight as he kissed her again and again, loving the feeling she was getting from his careful and kind caresses.

"Orihime, I'm home!" a voice called out into the apartment, and Ichigo and Orihime immediately snapped apart. Both teens felt a chill at the sudden lack of presence in one another's arms, but nothing could be done now that her aunt was home. Rangiku soon walked into the room, a concerned look on her face. She was expecting her niece to be alone, and presumably crying, on the couch, so it was very much a surprise to see Ichigo on the couch next to her.

"Welcome home, Rangiku-san," Orihime smiled, her response slow, but sweet sounding. After just kissing Ichigo, it had taken her a moment to recollect herself, and that included battling the blush that attempted to take over. It took all she had not to want to squeal over how she and Ichigo just kissed.

Rangiku looked over at Ichigo and took a few steps closer to the two. "Thank you for looking after her, Ichigo-kun," her voice was sincere as she spoke to him. Shrugging as if it was no big deal, Ichigo reached over to pull his wheelchair closer to the couch.

"It's no problem," he replied nonchalantly, using his arms to move himself from the spot on the couch back into the chair. Rangiku moved over to Orihime, whom had already risen from her seat as soon as soon as her aunt entered the room. Rangiku gave her niece a hug, which would normally be thought of an intimate family scene, but the busty blonde woman could tell by the atmosphere between the two teens that there was nothing hidden now.

As soon as she walked in and saw the two, their expressions read of some longing she'd never seen in either of them before; Ichigo held himself more gently around Orihime, and Orihime flat-out looked like a girl in love, which made her want to laugh at her innocence.

Orihime received the hug like any other, but she couldn't help but compare it to the hug with Ichigo. She could feel the family love in this hug with Rangiku, but she could also feel love from the way he held her earlier too. Whether it was friendly or something else, she wasn't able to tell.

Pulling away from Rangiku embrace but still keeping close, she looked over to the boy in the wheelchair no more than three or four feet from her. "You're going, Kurosaki-kun?" He nodded and finished getting himself situated in his spot.

"Since your aunt is home, I should probably get going, yeah," he replied, turning his chair around after giving a small, especially reserved smile for her. Her heart skipped a beat upon seeing the kind smile, and she figured Rangiku was bound to tease her about it once he left. "I'll see you tomorrow, Inoue." And a few minutes later, Ichigo left, allowing Orihime to turn beet red at the entire situation before. Rangiku smiled at her and hugged her again.

"I'm sorry I had to go today, Orihime-chan," she apologized, patting the top of her head comfortingly. Orihime wrapped her arms around her curvy waist and shook her head in the negative.

"It's okay. It wasn't so bad with Kurosaki-kun around," she spoke softly, her cheeks burning.

"He seems special to you," Rangiku commented.

"Mm..." Orihime merely hummed back as her aunt released her from the second hug. She knew Rangiku could tell from one look, but she thought like her heart and head were so happy and full of more amorous feelings, if she admitted her feelings to Rangiku now, she'd probably explode! She couldn't help but raise a hand to tenderly touch her lips, the ones Ichigo was kissing not more than ten minutes ago.

"How's take-out sound tonight?" Rangiku pointed to the door. "You and I could take a walk and spend some time together." Orihime smiled brightly and nodded at the idea, and went to get her coat. The sun was setting, and it was starting to get a little chilly, so she knew she needed it. Except, she was stopped by Rangiku curious voice. "Ah, and Orihime-chan?"

"Yes, Rangiku-san?" she asked, shrugging on her jacket. She watched her put her own on, noticing the elder woman's curious expression on her face.

"Ichigo-kun... Do you think you're ever going to tell him you used to know him?" It hadn't meant to be a downhearted question, both in tone and word choice, but it was one worth asking. The idea Rangiku spoke of had passed through her mind before, but Orihime hadn't ever seriously considered it.

Putting a finger to her chin in through, she pouted her lips. "I'm not sure..." she mumbled out a response. "Someday, maybe. There's been so much going on, I think it's something that can wait a little longer... Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious." Rangiku smiled and extended her hand out, gesturing to Orihime to take a hold of it. Her niece took it with a smile, also comparing her aunt's soft hand to that of Ichigo's larger one. The two left the apartment complex, talking animatedly about every little thing they could think of, unaware of the sharp blue eyes watching them from afar.

* * *

It was about midnight that same night, and Ichigo lay on his bed, unable to fall asleep. So much had happened in the past day, he was having trouble wrapping his mind around it, despite contrary belief that he completely understood. To hear of Orihime's tragic past was a heart wrenching tale, he couldn't help but feel the same grief over what happened as she did. Not to mention how they had kissed so unexpectedly during their wait for Rangiku, it made his head spin just the same.

But there was something that bugged him.

Orihime mentioned running out into the street as she escaped the man who killed her brother, as well as her mentioning previously that her location was Tokyo when it happened. It bothered Ichigo, how difficult it was to try and figure this all out.

They both had relatives die on the same day, which was already suspicious enough. What troubled Ichigo was how seven years ago on this day, his family had taken a trip to the Tokyo area, just as a general family vacation. Scoffing as he rolled himself onto his side, he remembered how terrible _that_ trip ended up, with a dead mom and him in the hospital.

The fact both him and Orihime had such tragedies that day, possibly same place and time, made Ichigo sick to the stomach.

_No... There's just no fucking way_, he thought, tossing and turning to his other side. _But even if it was... Inoue said she didn't see who they were. She would've never known who those people were._

He wanted to force that notion out of his head, but it was an idea that seemed to stick around. Grinding his teeth, he told himself Orihime was different, and if she was involved, it wasn't her fault. It was fate.

Fate.

He had explained to Orihime earlier that things just happen, and we have to learn to move on from them, but right now, he was thinking fate is a bitter, horrible concept. Letting out a staggering sigh, Ichigo threw his pillow over his head. It was no use thinking about all this, especially when it was all in the past.

Inwardly, he made a promise to himself to never think nor speak of this crazy idea again. People would be hurt by the thought, Orihime especially, and by now, he felt she was just too important to him. He refused to make her relive the guilt all over again, all because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. It just wouldn't have any affect to bring up this hypothesis without any other solid evidence.

Feeling fatigue settle on his eye lids, Ichigo let go of the idea in his head, never allowing himself to think of it again and instead closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of nothing but Orihime.

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	11. Chapter 11

_Sorry this is a **really** short chapter. I made up the final outline for the story, and it looks to be about 7-8 chapters more before its over. This chapter just happened to be shorter than the rest that will follow it. That being said, hopefully the ones to come will be longer as they go on. Enjoy!_

* * *

It had been a week later after the kiss between the two redheaded teens, and Orihime still held a blush around Ichigo. She found herself saying the silliest, most open things around him, which would inevitably cause her to grow even more flustered, but he didn't seem to mind a bit.

There was one instance, on the walk home from the last day of school of the year with Rukia and Ichigo, where Orihime had rambled off about boxing matches and marathons. Rukia had called her silly, with a smile, of course, but Ichigo just gave her a smile that warmed her insides. She had been a blubbering mess for the remainder of the walk home because of that grin.

He treated her differently, she noticed, but he hadn't made any conversation about what happened back at her place.

"Maybe he hadn't meant it at all...?" Orihime thought out loud, frowning a little as she nibbled on her snack one day after school. "The first kiss might've been an accident, but didn't he lean in for another?"

Flushing brightly at the out loud admittance of kissing the nearby handicapped boy, Orihime started to choke on her cookie that she had just swallowed (or tried to), and began hitting her chest until it moved through.

"Nothing's wrong with kissing, Orihime!" she hissed to herself, her voice a little hoarse from the enemy cookie. "Teenagers get really needy sometimes, and-"

Orihime stopped again, mortified by her own words, and collapsed onto the table in front of her in defeat. A gentle breeze came through the open window, and she inwardly commented on how it felt so nice. It sort of reminded her of Ichigo.

"I could've sworn he tried to hold my hand the other day too..." she mumbled to herself, twirling around a strand of hair on her finger. "After Kuchiki-san went ahead to her house..."

Remembering back, Orihime recalled how they had both waved Rukia goodbye, and left the two redheads alone. A silence fell between them for a moment, and Orihime thought she felt something touch her hand for a moment. But when her eyes fell to the hand, Ichigo had very quickly reached his hands to the back of his neck, and his face was a bright red.

Closing her eyes and relishing the breeze, Orihime let out a soft sigh, while trying to tame the small blush that settled on her cheeks. "I don't know what to do, Onii-chan..." she spoke to herself, but at the same time, hoping her deceased brother would hear her somewhere. "Kurosaki-kun is so very nice, but I wonder if I'm just imagining these things now..."

The sound of a few, vocal birds caused her to turn her head towards the window, and outside Orihime saw two brown birds, perched upon the ledge of the window. Smiling, she thought they looked so cute together.

"Hello there," she spoke softly to them, but they ended up flying off at the sound of a human's voice. Once they were gone, Orihime rested her chin in her hands. "Rangiku-san seems to be a little more mysterious lately too. Not that she's been sneaky, but it seems like her mind is someplace else..." With her eyes focused on the brilliant blue sky, Orihime craned her neck a little to the right. "I wonder if Okaa-san was ever like that..."

Letting herself sit in silence for a few moments, Orihime closed her eyes and took in the summer sounds, just enjoying the serenity from the kitchen table. The small thought and curiosity of what happened to her parents seemed to bubble up again the longer she sat alone. Rangiku had told her when her parents passed away, but she seemed to make an avid point to not explain how they died, nor was Orihime ever allowed to go to their funeral.

In a way, she felt like it was a method to keep her safe. Rangiku was all about safety when it came to Orihime. But she figured, what would've she said to them anyway? They were practically strangers to her, and Orihime had never gotten the chance to get to know them.

She remembers the one day a few years ago when Rangiku had reminded her they hadn't been good people, and a gentle, kind girl such as Orihime shouldn't feel sympathy. Orihime figures she would have still given them some sympathy, considering they were the two people that gave her life.

Standing from her chair, Orihime stretched tall and eased her tensed muscled. Maybe it'd do her good to get out of the house for a little while, and enjoy the summer weather a little bit more outside.

Grabbing her purse, Orihime reckoned a trip to the convenience store for a tub of ice cream for her and Rangiku to enjoy later would be a good way to go.

* * *

Ichigo, on the other hand, had been a complete mess.

After kissing her at her apartment a week prior, he had been on cloud nine, but had hid it so his friends wouldn't have bugged him about it.

He thought things had changed between him and Orihime, but in reality, she acted no different towards him than any other day. The only exception, he noticed, was how she seemed to blush more frequently around him. It was sort of promising, in a sense, but it didn't help him a whole lot.

Sighing to himself, maybe he had thought wrong. He thought kissing her meant they could be more than friends, or at least try to be. Had he missed something along the way?

Ichigo had been lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with his thoughts of potential love running through his head. It made him feel stupid, there was no doubt about that, but he couldn't deny the warm feelings around Orihime.

A gentle draft came through his open window, causing him to turn his head and look at the sky. It was such a nice day out, and the summer was always so nice, he thought. It was at least better than the harsh winter, where he could hardly get his wheelchair moving most of the time.

Blinking from the bright sun, Ichigo raised a hand to rub at his eyes, and just sat in the comforting silence. For all the thinking he'd been doing lately, just enjoying his surroundings was a nice break.

Though he found any breaks he took, his mind would wander right back to Orihime and his cheeks would grow warm.

He didn't like being so friendly still with Orihime. Maybe he'd been thinking _too_ hard, and that there was nothing else behind that kiss. Maybe Orihime had just interpreted it as a sign of comfort, that he was there for her, and nothing else.

_I've had enough of being stupid..._ He growled to himself. _I need to talk to Inoue about this... About us._

Another light wind came through the window, and Ichigo's mind melted with the warm weather. His lips curled upwards into a small smile.

_But first, I'll just think about her a little while longer.

* * *

_

"We found her."

Cold brown eyes looked up from the busty woman at the man's side, flashing a quite spark of intrigue.

"You don't say..." he started to smile, dismissing the obviously scared woman away. She scrambled out of the room, trying her best to ignore the lusty stares from the two men. "Where is she?"

Grinning from ear to ear, the man with bright blue eyes tossed a thick folder to his leader. "In a town called Karakura." He cracked his knuckles and his eyes shone of pure enjoyment of all this. "We're finally gonna get our payment from the bitch."

The leader flipped through the folder, amusement shinning more and more the further he looked into the information. "Yes, her parents never paid us back, nor did her brother." Closing the folder with a quick snap, he handed it back to his subordinate. "You're correct, Grimmjow. We're going to get our 'payment' from her, regardless of her monetary status." He stood up to his full height, straightening his jacket. "Can I trust you to bring her back here?"

Grimmjow sneered, already growing thrilled over the idea of getting payback on the bitch who hurt him when he killed her brother.

"Of course, Aizen."

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	12. Chapter 12

_I loved this chapter, aha. It's getting good!_

* * *

"A party?"

"Uhn! My aunt is leaving soon, and she wants to meet all of you before then!" Orihime popped the rest of her sandwich into her mouth, a few bread crumbs lingering on her cheeks. All of her friends looked a little surprised, but a feeling of excitement lingered in the air. "It'll be this coming weekend, and you all are invited to come!"

Rukia and Renji sat together and grinned as they started talking about the party on their own. Ishida pushed up his glasses thoughtfully, and a small hue of red tinged his cheeks if one looked closely enough. "I'm afraid I'll be busy, Inoue-san," he said curtly. "But I thank you for the offer."

Orihime's smile faded a little, and the group got a little quieter. "Ah, that's alright, Ishida-kun," she told him reassuringly. "People get busy, I understand!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo noticed Orihime's slightly downhearted demeanor at Ishida's rejection of her invitation, and he felt an anger bubble up towards him. How could Ishida deny her request and be so blatantly ignorant to her sadness? His fist clenched around his own sandwich, and he was ignorant on his own due to not noticing Orihime looking at him.

"A-Are you able to come over, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked him, her tone obviously shy. The small blush of her own didn't go unnoticed, and for some reason, it made him turn a little warm as well.

"Yeah, I'll be there," he told her, shoving his sandwich into his mouth to keep an embarrassed string of words from coming out. Orihime smile immediately showed again and her previously down emotions had gone straight to positive again.

"Great!" Orihime chirped, clapping her hands together in excitement. She turned to Tatsuki with the smile still abundant on her features. "What about you, Tatsuki-chan?" In return, Tatsuki gave her a smile and a nod.

"Count me in. Is there anything any of us need to bring?" she asked out of curiosity, and the other participants looked at Orihime, awaiting her answer. She shook her head in the negative and began to collect her things.

"Nothing at all! Just bring yourselves," she told them all, gathering her garbage to throw away earlier. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and Orihime rose to her feet. The others did the same, and Orihime was ready to leave before she gave Ichigo one last glance and a smile.

"See you later, Kurosaki-kun," she told him, her voice quieter so only he could hear her. Her gentle salutation made his lips twitch into a faint smile of his own, and he nodded to her. Orihime went off to class on her own, leaving Ichigo and the others to still gather their things.

His staring at her back was broken by laughs and giggles from the others, and his smile immediately melted into his normal scowl. "What?" he asked them, his voice hard. They all continued to smile like they knew something, sans Ishida, and Rukia stepped in to answer for them all.

"Nothing, Ichigo... Nothing at all."

* * *

Orihime was bustling around the kitchen, humming a light tune as she refilled the one of the snack trays for her little mini-party. All of her friends and Rangiku were in the other room, laughing and enjoying themselves as they all shared stories. At an opportune time, Orihime snuck away to the kitchen with an empty tray, with intentions to refill it with more treats.

Placing some crackers and cheese on part of the tray, she was surprised to see Tatsuki at her side in a matter of moments, opening up the box of cookies nearby and placing some on the tray as well. For a moment, Orihime wondered if Tatsuki was some sort of ninja, being able to sneak up on her so quickly and quietly.

"I thought you might need a little help," she murmured, smiling faintly at the gentle girl. Orihime smiled back and nodded in thanks.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked bemusedly. If there was something extra she wanted, or wasn't enjoying herself, Orihime wanted to know about it.

"Ah, yeah. Your aunt is really cool," she smiled, absentmindedly rearranging the cookies into perfect order. "And I can definitely tell where you get your looks from." Orihime let out a small laugh.

"I've heard that so many times! Rangiku-san even thinks I should've been her daughter instead, because we look more alike than I did with my Okaa-san, her sister." Her laugh and smile faded off a little, and upon noticing Orihime's distanced thoughts and the silence, Tatsuki let the tender matter slide by instead.

Taking a deep breath, Tatsuki tried to calm her hammering heart while finishing placing the snacks on the tray. She'd had words on her mind that needed to be said to her friend for a while now, but she'd never known how to bring them up. "Say, I've been wanting to apologize..." she started slowly, her voice quiet. Orihime turned to her in confusion, but kept a serious stare at her due to the somber tone in her voice.

"What for?" she asked in question. "You've done nothing to call for an apology, Tatsuki-chan."

Shaking her head, Tatsuki begged to differ. "No, I do. I'm apologizing because I was really rude to you when you first moved here." Orihime had opened her mouth to protest the girl's inaccurate statement, but Tatsuki gave her a sharp glance, her eyes insisting she needed to finish first, but her stare wasn't meant to be harsh either. "I... I just thought you were familiar for some reason, and it bugged me that I couldn't figure it out."

Orihime was still listening to her as she turned back to the snack tray and finished putting the cheeses on the tray. "It's really okay. I understand why you felt funny around me." Pausing, she let a silence grace them before trying to crack a joke. "I sometimes feel funny around me, too."

That managed to make Tatsuki smile a little, and the martial artist closed up the boxes of crackers and cookies before continuing on. "Did you know Ichigo had a good friend while in daycare, way before his accident?" she asked as if it were nonchalant, even though it did still have relevance to her inevitable point. Orihime froze again, knowing all too well what she was talking about. "From what he used tell me, she had a hair color similar to his. I guess your hair reminded me of the girl he used to talk about, and I just got... angry?" She finished in a questioning tone, wondering if that was the correct word to use.

Shuffling her feet over to the fridge to return some of the items that needed to be chilled, Orihime followed by pulling out more soda and she attempted to hide her burning cheeks. "Why angry?" she asked, genuinely confused. She could understand why Ichigo would've been sad after they left as friends, as well as forgetting about her now since it was so long ago, but she was baffled as to why Tatsuki was confused.

"He just used to talk and about her all the time, and I could tell he never seemed to stop thinking about her either. Although I never got to meet her, Ichigo was really sad to have had her leave so suddenly like that. My mom used to tell me he was always so depressed-looking whenever him and I had those stupid kiddy play dates," Tatsuki explained, shrugging her shoulders. "So I got mad that he lost such a good friend."

"I'm so sorry to hear that..." Orihime apologized, seriously feeling intense guilt at this new knowledge. It never occurred to her that Ichigo would've been sad when she initially left, so long ago. It was one more thing she felt bad about, on top of the still lingering guilt of her brother and the two others who died in Tokyo that day.

Tatsuki smiled at Orihime and shook her head. "Don't be. Whatever reason she had for moving away must've been a serious one. I'm just sorry that I mistook you for her." Taking the soda out of the gentle girl's hands, Tatsuki motioned for her to take the tray instead, while she carried the beverages.

"Ah, that's okay," Orihime feigned a smile. "It happens sometimes!" She moved her feet towards the doorway and Tatsuki followed. Only, Orihime stopped short and merely stood there as she looked at Ichigo with a heavy heart. Sure, he was happy and smiling now, but everything seemed so messed up and she was so confused about a lot, it made her head spin.

Tatsuki looked at Orihime from the corner of her eyes, and saw her practically wearing her heart on her sleeve judging from the expression on her face. She kept her voice low when she whispered to her, "You really like him, don't you...?"

Orihime didn't turn to her friend and blush like she normally would've, but instead continued to watch Ichigo and nodded subtly. "... Yeah..." she murmured softly, "I do..."

Nudging her lightly in the side, Tatsuki gave her friend encouragement. "Then just go after him. Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end." The philosophical saying brought Orihime's attention to her, and her eyes were wide with curiosity.

"That was very amazing, Tatsuki-chan!" She smiled, in awe. Chuckling, Tatsuki waved her off.

"It's not my 'amazing' words," she told her truthfully, taking steps with her towards the others again. "But they are a pretty cool quote to live by." Rangiku saw them approaching again and they all noticed the new abundance of snacks and returned friends.

"We were wondering where you went!" Rangiku cheered, pulling Orihime back to her side and just about sending the tray with the snacks flying. After successfully managing to avoid a potential mess, the tray had been set down on the table and the conversation had resumed, with Orihime taking a spot between her aunt and Ichigo with his wheelchair. While she appeared to be avidly listening, her mind was elsewhere, still stuck on the thoughts of how Ichigo was so sad when she left. Well, sans the fact he didn't remember it was her at the time.

Ichigo could tell something was off with her, and gave her a small nudge to the side. While his heart was beating a fast tattoo in his chest, he still couldn't help but want to give her a reassuring smile, over whatever silly thought she had in her head.

Her cheeks turned dark and her eyes widened slightly, but Ichigo could see her lips twitching into a small smile of her own.

_Today_... He thought, a sudden surge of confidence and adrenaline beginning to rush through him. _I'll talk to her today.

* * *

_

Stifling a yawn, Orihime tried to contain her fatigue in front of her last guest, the one who so kindly offered his services to help clean up the post-party mess. With a garbage bag in his lap, he hadn't been able to do much in the means of picking up the trash, but he thought he'd offer his help when he could.

Rangiku had gone to do the dishes and straighten up the kitchen while the Ichigo and Orihime worked about in the living room. (Of course, it was all just a ruse, and she purposely left to give them space. Orihime got incredibly embarrassed as she whispered to her niece not to be making out while she was in the other room.) She did her best to hide her blush, but she knew it was a lost cause, and he was bound to notice her reddened face sooner or later.

Ichigo held the bag open for Orihime as she piled in excess paper plates and cups, but neither of them said a word as they cleaned up. Orihime was just plain embarrassed over the fact that last time they had been alone like this, they'd been kissing each other. She could recall the way his large, warm hands roved over her arms and pulled her closer into his arms. Shuddering delightfully from the thought, Orihime kept her lips zipped tight in order to keep from squealing in happiness.

"Hey, Inoue..." Ichigo called her quietly, causing the girl to break from her thoughts. "Have you been feeling okay?" His kindness and generosity over her well-being only warmed her heart further.

"I'm fine," she told him half-truthfully. "Just been thinking a lot lately. It's a dangerous past-time, isn't it?" A smile broke on her face at her attempt at the joke, but in all honesty, she hadn't wanted to tell him of her guilt over how she left him so suddenly so long ago. She knew it was only when they were kids, but her nature just called for her to feel bad for leaving. In addition to that worry, she definitely was not ready to tell him of their friendship from way before.

"I suppose," he replied, his lips turning into a small smile of his own. Orihime had turned away from him to gather more trash, and for a short moment, he was left looking at her backside. He couldn't actually see it, but he imagined her scar across her back, her constant reminder, and thought that the fact she seemed to carry the guilt on her shoulders as if it were the weight of the world, made him want to be there by her side even more.

Orihime returned to him with quite an armful of trash, and in return, Ichigo held it open for her to dump it in. Once it had been placed in the bag, she was going to turn around and continue on, but he grabbed onto her wrist without a second thought, keeping her there instead. She looked genuinely baffled and confused, as was Ichigo's thoughts at the moment, but he quickly uttered out an excuse for grabbing a hold of her wrist like he did. "You've had a busy day," he blurted out, making up his words on the spot. "You should sit for a minute. The trash isn't going anywhere."

Still wearing a blank look, Orihime sat down on the couch nearby, her hands a little shaky. She tried to hide her nervousness by folding her hands on her lap. A moment later, Ichigo had joined her after rolling his way to the furniture and using his arms to move himself next to the spot next to her. His sudden close distance made the heat in her face flare up.

"S-Some party, huh...?" Orihime mumbled, trying to make conversation. "I'm glad everyone was able to come. Except Ishida-kun, that is."

Ichigo's lips turned into an all-too familiar scowl, and he knew exactly why Ishida hadn't showed up. He thought he was good at hiding it, but Ishida hadn't come to the party because he liked Orihime and it so plainly embarrassed him. To Ichigo, the thought of someone else liking Orihime pissed him off. He wasn't stupid, he knew she was an attractive person and had a personality that would naturally draw people to her, but he didn't want anyone else to have her.

But that would be when he would stop and realize how possessive he'd sound over her. Groaning to himself, he knew he had to let it go. "Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun though, with or without a missing person."

"Hm, that's true," she said quietly, staring at her hands. She still kept quiet, and it was bugging Ichigo. He didn't mind the silence, but it meant that she really wasn't okay like she said she was. She was only quiet like this when she had something quite serious on her mind.

"Did you have fun, Inoue?" he tried asking her. She just nodded, no words ever leaving her lips. Ichigo swore in his mind, getting frustrated not at her, but how he was unable to snap her from this funk of hers.

His motions were shaky at best, but he tentatively placed his hand on her joined ones, immediately causing her to jump in surprise. She looked at him with lowered lids, and her cheeks were dusted with a light pink. She was looking so beautiful to him at the moment, as embarrassing as it was to admit. Regardless of his or her thoughts, Ichigo took the opportunity to lean in and kiss her. She seemed a little stiff at first, but she melted into the kiss and fixed her hands around so she held his between hers.

Ichigo pulled away slightly, just mere inches away from her lips, and he uttered her name almost silently. Using his free left hand, he rose it upwards to her face, lacing it into her hair and behind to her neck, pulling her close again to press another sweet kiss to her tender lips. A soft sigh came from Orihime as he gave her more and more kindness, and she leaned into his embrace. When he tilted his head towards the side, deepening the kiss, a noticeable shudder coursed through Orihime's body. It was when he carefully licked her lower lip, silently asking for permission to enter.

She hesitantly complied, only careful of her actions because she didn't know what to do or what he was expecting of her. Ichigo slipped his tongue into her mouth, thoroughly taking in her sweet taste. Both of their breathing was becoming more and more labored as he gladly swept his tongue into her moist cavern, exploring her and feeling closer and closer to her with every kiss they shared.

When Orihime pulled away, she looked dazed and her eyes were slightly fogged over with that he thought to be something like love. It only made her look more attractive than she was before, yet he didn't know how that was even possible.

After nervously licking her lips, her eyes darted towards the kitchen. Rangiku was still humming away in the other room, but there was concern apparent with Orihime. "S-She's still in the other room, you know..." she murmured to him, expressing her thoughts. It wasn't that she hadn't really wanted to stop, but if Rangiku walked in on them kissing, she'd never live it down.

Ichigo was a little dejected at the abrupt stop, but he understood where Orihime was coming from. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her midsection and pulled her close. Her face met his shoulder, and he rested his head on top of hers, all the while hoping she wouldn't mind this close contact.

"I've, um..." Ichigo tried to start, but stopped and cleared his suddenly blocked throat before continuing. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while..."

Orihime's heart was pounding in her chest, unbeknownst to him, but she willed herself to calm down. It was unfortunate that Ichigo's spicy scent was muddling her senses and making her grow even more embarrassed. "A-About what?" a stutter inevitably escaped her as she replied.

"... Us," he told her, his tone suddenly much quieter than it had been previously. "I know I kissed you before, a couple weeks ago, and I guess I just did again now too..." Finding himself rambling on, he inwardly scrambled to find the point he was trying to make, and had desperately wanted to talk to her about for so long anyway. "But I don't want you to think that I did it out of sympathy or anything like that. I did it because I wanted to."

Orihime noticeably stiffened in his arms, and his grip on her only grew a little tighter in response. Ichigo was hoping he could somehow draw the strength to finish his little tangent.

"I-I guess I was wondering if you wanted to go out," he mumbled out, blurting his inevitable stutter as well. "Do a couple thing, dating, going steady, whatever you call it..." He had only given so many verbal options because he hadn't really a clue which one was the right one. Orihime's small hand fisted the fabric of his shirt, and a staggered sigh escaped her lips.

"A-Are you serious, Kurosaki-kun...?" she asked, her voice obviously nerve wracked. He took her tone as a bad sign and nodded. He could already feel his emotions crippling under the thought of rejection, be he kept forcing himself to remember that it was her choice, and if she hadn't wanted to be with him like he wanted to be with her, that was her decision. It definitely surprised him when he felt her smiling against his shoulder. "I'm so happy..." she mumbled out shakily.

Finding it difficult to swallow, Ichigo subconsciously held her even tighter. "Does... Does that mean you're saying yes?" he asked, his tone almost desperate.

"Yes, Kurosaki-kun," she told him, her voice getting light and happy as she let out a tinkling laugh. "I'm saying yes."

Smirking to himself, he started to laugh as well. "Ha, she said yes!" He knew he was acting like a fool, but he felt like a damn happy one. Orihime continued to giggle as he pulled them apart to get a good look at her face. She wore a huge smile, a true one he felt he hadn't seen in forever. Brushing stray tendrils of hair out of her face and behind her ear, he leaned in closer to her again, prepared to give her another kiss.

A separate laugh came from the other side of the room, causing the new couple to snap apart and look over at the source of the sound. Rangiku was peeking her head around the corner, and she looked positively thrilled.

"Oh, don't mind me!" she grinned and waved her hand, motioning for them to continue on. Ichigo sighed in defeat, getting the feeling he wouldn't be able to kiss Orihime anymore tonight due to her aunt. But instead, she gave him a small peck on the cheek and a shy smile, startling him with the tender action. She got off his lap and although she knew she would miss just sitting with him like they had done before, there was still more work to be done.

* * *

A few days later, Rukia had gone on ahead of the two newfound lovebirds, as she liked to call them, so they could walk alone and "make-out in public". Her words only embarrassed both of them further, but they were both secretly glad to have a little alone time that was in the form of walking each other home.

They were right in front of Orihime's apartment building, when she swirled around to face her boyfriend with a smile. (The new status still gave her the chills, admittedly.) It was a stupid thing to say, but Ichigo couldn't help but smile back at her whenever she gave him a grin.

"Thanks for walking me home, Kurosaki-kun," she spoke softly. Rolling a little closer to her, Ichigo closed the space between them and soon grabbed her hands and squeezed them tight.

"It's no problem, Inoue. I like doing this," he told her truthfully. Her smile widened slightly more, if it was possible, and her body grew warm at his kindness. They stood there hand in hand for a few moments before Ichigo cleared his throat, a small smirk never leaving his lips. "Though I think we're forgetting one thing, don't you?" Orihime looked confused for a short minute before it hit her and she suddenly looked quite flustered.

"O-Oh, right!" she chirped, leaning down to get closer to Ichigo. "I'm always forgetting..." she admitted against his lips, cheeks still burning.

"I guess that means we'll have to keep practicing until you remember, hm?" Ichigo teased, releasing one of her hands to pull her down by her neck. Orihime's shocked squeak was muffled by his hot lips, but she sighed contently as she kissed him back. She cautiously cupped his cheek and turned her head a little, giving the kiss a little more depth. This was all so new to her, but she still tried to meet with him physically when she could. She didn't want him thinking that he should have to all the work.

Orihime reluctantly pulled away, leaving Ichigo with a small pucker on his lips that made her giggle. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun... I should go." As much as she wanted to stay with him and kiss him to her heart's content, she wasn't too keen on the idea of her neighbors thinking she was so sleazy to kiss men in public, or the like. However, she had quite a bit of homework to do for the night anyway, which gave her a good reason to stop.

"Of course," he murmured, wishing they could've gone on, but he respected her concerns and boundaries, whatever they may be. "Call or text me if you want to talk, alright?" he told her sternly. As Orihime opened her mouth, he intercepted her words and finished with his response. "And no, you won't be bothering me. I'll make time for you." She looked a little pouty after he successfully read her thoughts, but he just took the opportunity to press one last kiss to her puckered lips.

Smiling as she pulled away, Orihime turned to leave, giving Ichigo one last wave and goodbye before she disappeared into the building. Her knees were still feeling a little wobbly from the kiss with Ichigo, and she was so very glad to have a small railing available in the elevator to keep her upright. Had that not been there, she was very determined to think she'd be collapsed in a pile of Orihime-goo.

With the elevator dinging, signaling she was on her level, Orihime stepped out and began the short walk back to her apartment. She was digging her hand around her front backpack pocket, in search of her house key, and by the time she found it, her feet had already taken her to her apartment.

Everything seemed so fuzzy and delightful, she noticed. It seemed after Ichigo had asked her to be his girlfriend, colors were brighter, the sun seemed to shine more, and she was generally on cloud nine over Ichigo. She loved the bouncy feeling she would get into her step occasionally, and the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach. She had the feeling before, when her feelings for him were more or less unrequited, but now it was so much more emphasized, and she just adored the sensations.

Turning the key in her lock, Orihime swung the door open with unexpected fervor. "I'm home, Rangiku-san!" she called out in general, unsure if her aunt was home from work or not. She didn't think she'd be, due to the hour of the day, but it was worth a try.

Setting down her book bag and key on the nearby table, Orihime stretched and began to undo the buttons on her blouse, looking for a bit of relief after a long, but enjoyable day. However, she was stopped as she noticed a white envelope on the floor, just a few feet away from her door. _Did a neighbor accidentally get this instead?_ She wondered as she picked it up, but found there was no address on the front; neither hers nor a return one.

A little confused, Orihime furrowed her brows slightly and turned over the envelope to pull out the letter inside. She dropped the envelope next to her key on the table, and opened up the letter. Most of it was scraggly, hard to read handwriting, but the big letters at the top sent her heart to her toes and left her entire body frozen and unable to move.

_We found you._

_._

_._

_.  
_


	13. Chapter 13

_Yay, another chapter down! I have already written the next chapter after this, but I'm probably going to wait a few days until I upload it. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

To Ichigo, it was a little unsettling to not have Orihime around the next day. With no texts last night or quick call this morning, he hadn't heard from her, which meant no reason as to why she was absent. The day went by so slow without hearing her infectious laughter or seeing her bright smile first thing in the morning. Ichigo was taking this as a bad sign, that he was probably spending too much time with her, if he was feeling such cravings. Or were these feelings just part of a new relationship? It was all so unfamiliar to him, so he couldn't really tell.

At first, he told himself he was probably just too "addicted" to her, was the best word to label it. Orihime was probably just home sick and hadn't the energy to let him know how she was feeling. Knowing her nature, she more than likely was sick with something awful, and she just didn't want him to catch it.

But that still didn't help the nagging feeling in his stomach. There was just something pestering him from within, telling him something didn't seem quite right. He thought he had a pretty good grasp on Orihime and her personality, and it just didn't seem like her to not let anyone know what happened to her. Especially him, he figured, since they were now dating.

It was the end of the day, after struggling with waiting and glaring at the door for the last six hours, thinking she'd come bounding through the door with a smile and just say, "Sorry I'm late!" But she never came. Instead, Ichigo got multiple scoldings for staring at the door instead of listening to the lesson at hand.

So Ichigo was wheeling himself out to the school yard when he caught Rukia outside, waiting by the front gate. She looked a little disturbed, upon closer inspection, but perhaps it was just a reaction to seeing Ichigo alone. He'd been attached to the hip with Inoue for the last few days.

"Mind if I walk with you today?" she asked, her tone unreadable to the boy. "Since Inoue's gone today, and I know you won't be making out with yourself." She tried to make a joke, but even then she didn't find herself all that amused, nor did Ichigo. She was feeling a little concerned about the other girl's absence.

"Don't fucking joke about that," Ichigo hissed, not only feeling embarrassed, but angry. He had that stupid, harassing feeling in the pit of his stomach, and Rukia pointing out her lack of presence only made him feel worse. He started his usual ride home, but was silently allowing her to accompany him if he'd like. "Just don't make any jabs like that again. I'm not in the mood." Surprisingly, she complied and hadn't said a negative, teasing word to him.

The two started their walk home, just like they had done so many times in the past, but it was painfully obvious something wasn't settling quite right between the two. The quieted crunch of Ichigo's wheels on the pavement, and Rukia's soft footsteps hitting the ground where the only noise. That is, until Ichigo stopped in his tracks and stared sullenly at the ground. His expression was twisted into something awful, and Rukia had a hard time getting an idea of what he meant. She only could tell it wasn't good.

"Something's not right, Rukia," Ichigo blurted out, bringing his eyes to meet her amethyst ones. "Inoue being gone just seems so bizarre." Maybe he was the bizarre one for bringing it up, but he really didn't care. She crossed her arms and turned towards him.

"So it's not just me," she murmured quietly, but still loud enough for him to hear.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been feeling funny about her absence all day," Rukia told him, her eyes stern. "I don't know why, but it just doesn't seem right. Has she texted you or anything about being gone?" Ichigo shook his head in the negative, but he took out his phone again anyway to check for any new or missed messages. Any little hope he held for wanting to find a missed message was always crushed as he found there were none.

"I know we're used to this... dating thing, but I would've figured she would call me or something if something was wrong," he told her, closing his phone shut and sliding it back into his pocket. "Especially after I keep telling her she won't be a bother if she's concerned about anything. I wanted her to know I was there for her whenever she needed me." He brought his hand to his neck and tenderly rubbed the stressed and sore muscles there before finishing his sentence. "And don't you dare tell me I'm acting like a fucking pansy or something. I told you I'm not in the mood to deal with that stuff today."

Turning on her heels, Rukia started walking the opposite way of their houses, leaving Ichigo confused. "Don't you think Inoue's someone that would go at great lengths to not tell someone, even a person as close as you are, if there were something really wrong?" she asked as she walked. "I guess I've always pegged her as a selfless person like that."

Ichigo couldn't help but silently agree, as much as he hadn't wanted to admit there could be an off chance Orihime wouldn't come to him in dire need. But what help would he be anyway? He was a crippled kid in a wheelchair, that refused to walk. Even if Orihime had a big problem that she maybe wanted to tell him about, just what would he be able to do? As much as he didn't want to admit it, he would be very little help to his new girlfriend.

"Where are you going, Rukia?" he asked out to her, his eyes never leaving her distancing backside.

"I'm going to Inoue's apartment to check up on her," she told him as if it were the most simplest explanation in the world. "And I'm going to find out what's going on whether you tag along or not."

* * *

"What... What the fuck...?" Ichigo swore, his brows becoming knotted and his stomach sinking. "What the hell is going on?"

Before Ichigo and Rukia, at Orihime's apartment, were a tear-stricken Rangiku and two police men. Rangiku had answered the door for them, but she didn't greet them or say a single word to them. The two other men stared seriously at the two teens, almost in a suspicious manner. It alarmed Ichigo and Rukia to see such stern, questionable men, but they must've had a good reason for being here.

"Ma'am," one of the police men called out to her. "Who are these two teenagers?" Dabbing a tissue at her eyes, she sniffled.

"They're Orihime-chan's friends. It's okay I know them," she told them, returning to their sides to hear them out. Rukia and Ichigo silently let themselves in, half-thinking Rangiku wouldn't mind, but the other part of their thinking was still how they were trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

"Ma'am," the shorter of the two started to talk, careful with his choice of words towards the distressed relative. "Legally, we can't file a missing persons report until after 48 hours. If your niece left sometime last night, she wouldn't be able to have a search party until sometime tomorrow night."

Off in the back of the room, Ichigo's heart was plummeting further and further with every word they said. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do for her at the moment." The officers stood to their full height from their seats and put their hats back on their head. "You can come down to the station tomorrow night to fill out the paperwork, if she's still gone by then."

"W-Wait..." Ichigo's voice was almost inaudible as he stared down the police officers. "What the hell do you mean 'missing persons'?" The two men ignored him and instead gave Rangiku their cards and said their salutations. "I'm talking to you!" he yelled out, his anger levels rising the longer the continued to disregard their presence.

Rangiku shook her head and uttered something about incompetent police officers before shooing them off and giving them a very curt "thank you". They were ushered out of the apartment just as quickly as the two teens had come in. Closing the door behind her, Rangiku choked back sobs and dabbed the already soaked tissue to her eyes.

"R-Rangiku-san... What's going on?" Rukia barely uttered out, after seeing Ichigo's speechless, infuriated state. Turning to them, the elder's eyes were full of great sadness, and it immediately sent the hearts of both teenagers plummeting. From what the police officers had said, they made it seem like someone had mysteriously disappeared... Someone that had yet to come to school today.

"Ah... Orihime-chan was gone when I got home from work last night..." she explained, staggeringly. "Some of her clothes and other items where gone too." Ichigo was dumbfounded, and he palmed his face in a sudden, overwhelming feeling of despair at her words. His fingers dug into his bright, unruly locks, and he was at a loss of words, yet had so much he wanted to say.

"But... I-I just saw her yesterday afternoon... I walked her home and made sure she was safe! I didn't fucking leave until I saw her go into this building!" His voice was growing higher with hysteria, and Rukia placed a hand on his shoulder and gripped it hard in an attempt to calm him down. Stopping abruptly, Ichigo took a sharp look at Rukia, and his eyes widened at her oddly strong resolve. He was completely mystified as to how she could stay so damn calm when Orihime was missing.

Shaking her head, Rangiku's tears continued to flow down her cheeks. "I don't know what else to tell you, Ichigo-kun, aside from those good for nothing officers won't do a thing to help her until it's been two days." The fact that she had to wait and worry even longer made her cry harder, and she walked over to the couch, where she sat there in utter defeat.

Rukia felt terrible on the inside, but Ichigo was even worse. How could've Orihime just up and left like she did? With no sudden cause or reason that they had yet to know about. It frustrated him greatly, because he just saw her yesterday and she was perfectly fine. Ecstatic, even, completely happy as she gave him good-bye kisses at the end of their walk.

With his head in his hands, Ichigo's feelings were all jumbled up and he felt sick to his stomach. What kind of friend was he? What kind of _boyfriend_ was he? They hadn't been dating long at all, but Ichigo already made a promise to himself to protect her, despite him being in his wheelchair. Much good that did him, because now Orihime was so abruptly missing, and he hadn't even noticed a damn thing was wrong.

"I... I'm sorry, Rangiku-san, I need to go..." Ichigo blurted out, turning his chair towards the door. He was just about to leave when Rangiku stopped him short by calling out his name.

"I'm sorry too, Ichigo-kun..." she mumbled to him, despite her cracking voice. There was a pregnant pause, with Rangiku finding the words to say to him, the boy she knew her niece loved so dearly. Upon finding nothing better and reassuring to say, she finished with, "I know she meant a lot to you..."

Ichigo's expression turned downwards into a heavy frown and he felt his stomach getting even heavier, making him feel so incredibly sick. Why was she referring to her niece's feelings in past tense? She was still alive and okay somewhere, she _had_ to be. There would be _no_ past tense.

Rolling himself out once again, his teeth grinded together as a whole slew of feelings hit him like a train. "Yeah... She does." And with that, he was out the door.

* * *

It was about midnight, and Ichigo was obviously tossing and turning in his bed. He had been unable to sleep ever since he laid down to rest. He hadn't been able to do anything all day, from homework, to even talk to his family. He mentioned what happened to his father, Isshin, but he'd rather brood about it all on his own than show his family his emotions over the girl.

Isshin felt heavy sympathy for his son, due to the fact his wife had been killed in that car accident, and now Ichigo's first love, or at least it appeared to be, had disappeared without a trace. But Ichigo told him he didn't want his sympathy. Unlike his mother, Orihime wasn't dead, and he kept telling himself that over and over again, as if she actually would be if she happened to pass on.

Shuddering from the thought, Ichigo groaned and slammed his fist into his mattress. A day without her, a day without knowing where she was, and he was going mad. He wanted to be there for her, wherever she was, and he would protect her. He was so sick to his stomach at knowing her location was unknown.

A fairly quiet beep went off on his phone, and at first, he thought he was imagining things. He had been waiting all day for some sort of text or phone call, hoping it'd be Orihime telling him she was okay and she'd be home soon. He snatched his phone off the nightstand next to him and flipped it open immediately. But he didn't know whether to laugh or fight the urge to cry at the name of the sender.

_Inoue Orihime._

Unfortunately, it was a text, not a call, but at this point, he was more than happy to take what he could get. To only make matters worse, it didn't even help him feel the least bit better. In fact, it made him feel worse.

_I'm okay. I'm sorry I left so suddenly. _

Knowing she was supposedly okay did give him a little relief in his heart, but her last line made all his fear for her return in an instant.

_Please don't come looking for me._

It was one request she had made, that he would've seriously gone against if he knew where she was at. Letting her go this easily was not an option. But oddly enough, knowing she left without any reason reminded him of someone that left him long ago, but had been fully unable to recall since he had the accident so long ago. Not only did he have problems with his legs, but his father had to break the news to him that he had some memory loss that they had been unable to identify.

_My life is so fucked up..._ he thought, swearing to himself. Fucked up legs, a dead mother, and a distressed, very much emotionally-stricken girlfriend that sounds like she just ran away. But even as he cursed his bad luck, he still counted Orihime as a very good thing in his life. It was hard to admit to the positivity due to the situation, but he knew he needed to keep his spirits up for her. Orihime wouldn't want him to be sad.

Throwing his forearm over his eyes, Ichigo bit his bottom lip and choked back odd, gurgling sounds coming from the back of his throat. He wasn't a person to cry, dammit, but he already knew Orihime was too important to easily get over.

Another beep of his phone alarmed him, snapping from his awkward state. He held his phone up again and opened it, finding the receiver was once again from Orihime. This last text made his heart hammer in his chest, threatening to jump right out. Not only was it something so heartwarming and unbearably unexplainable, but Ichigo questioned the motive behind it. He started to fear if Orihime was in more trouble than she was letting on, and if this text didn't tell him now, he would've otherwise never known.

Swallowing thickly, Ichigo let his opened phone fall to his chest, and his face twisted and scrunched into a pained expression.

_I love you, Kurosaki-kun._

_._

_._

_.  
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	14. Chapter 14

Ichigo remained fairly depressed over the weekend that followed the Friday of Orihime's disappearance. Saturday had passed, and he knew Rangiku probably filled out the paperwork for the missing persons report, but what good would that do? Orihime technically had only been gone two days, which was probably nothing compared to other cases the police dealt with. So for now, Ichigo had been left at home, half-hoping Rangiku would call him letting him know Orihime was home safe instead, but the other half dreading a call if something had gotten worse instead.

While he kept pretty upset for the majority of the time, he could still sense his sisters' sadness over his sulky attitude. He tried to keep up a smile around them when he could, but Yuzu and Karin were far too aware of how emotional he was over this whole ordeal. When they didn't show their sadness up front, they tried to hide it away from their brother just the same.

Come Sunday afternoon, Ichigo hadn't come out of his room for most of the day. It probably wasn't healthy to be alone, especially since this close person to him had so suddenly vanished, but he also wasn't in any mood to deal with his rambunctious father or his already fretting twin sisters.

_Why haven't I heard back from Inoue again...?_ he wondered, grabbing his phone for what seemed to be the umpteenth time over the last few days, and flipping it open. His heart would always start to hammer in his chest whenever he looked at her last text to him, and gripping the edge of the desk with his other hand, he felt terrible for never responding back. He just wasn't sure of the message he wanted to get across to her. He cared for her deeply, that was for sure, but he didn't want to immediately place it as love, just because he was unsure of what love really was.

Rolling himself away from the desk, Ichigo began to eyeball the rest of his spacious room, his thoughts flowing in freely. If he could walk properly, would he have been able to protect Orihime better than he had before? He thought he wouldn't have been a better friend, a better boyfriend. Not just the "crippled kid", but the guy would protect his girl like he was supposed to.

Frowning, Ichigo spun his chair around so he faced the wide, open room in front of him. He wanted to move, to get out of this trap that was a wheelchair. But the only problem wasn't just his weakened legs, refusing to move, but _he_ was the one to make himself this way. Had he not so stubbornly refused therapy after his legs supposedly recovered, he might be walking now. But he never had any reason to move on, figuratively and literally, after his mother died. There was just nothing important that he had to move towards.

Although, ever since Orihime came into his life, things had started to change, whether he wanted them to or not. Those walls he built before concerning his mother hadn't been entirely high, but on the inside, he built it up enough as to hopefully not feel the pain if someone were to bring her up, or even take her place. Orihime managed to slip through them like they were nothing, not only gaining a new spot in his heart, but Ichigo had actually been _okay_ when he brought up his mother around her.

Grumpily, Ichigo latched onto his left leg and removed it from its stirrup, and the right leg soon followed afterwards, until both sat upon the flat ground. The slight chill of the hardwood floor could be felt through his socks, and it felt so odd, so different than the texture of his stirrups he usually kept his feet in.

Cautiously, he gripped the handles of his wheelchair, and with all upper body strength, Ichigo pushed himself from the seat of his chair. His hands lingered on the handles for so long, he was sure he'd accidentally sat right back down, but the new height of everything gave him a small rush of exhilaration. He'd still had something to hold on, with his hands and arms quivering slightly from the strength to keep him up, but he hadn't really tried to stand up like this before.

He knew he wouldn't give himself another chance like this again, to stand, or if he got lucky, to take a measly step, for a while. So he let go of the handles, and he could feel his legs shaking and tingling in a way he couldn't describe as neither bad nor good. He stood still for a good ten seconds, if not a little bit more, before his knees buckled underneath his weight and sent him crashing to the floor.

His face met that cold hardwood flooring, and a staggered sigh came from his mouth in frustration. He closed his eyes and he felt his body tingling in pain from the fall, but he didn't care. The anger at himself over his weakness only further made him wonder just how he could ever deserve Orihime. She had left and he couldn't even stand up on his own.

"Fucking... dammit..." he swore, pounding a fist into the floor. _I'm so useless..._ he cursed in his head, his aggravation only growing more and more with each odd throb and pained twinge in his legs he would feel. They worked, they were _supposed_ to, but his body wasn't allowing him to do such a thing.

Ichigo stayed on the floor for quite some time, brooding on his thoughts. Even if he wanted to go after Orihime, wherever she may be, it would take him twice as long due to his wheelchair, and that only frustrated him. Groaning to himself, he hit the floor one last time before inwardly apologizing to the girl he let down.

* * *

A sneeze startled her, causing her to jump from the man's loud noise. She was on a train out of town, a small backpack of her items in her lap, with her brother's killer at her side. His menacing blue hair and even more threatening eyes still scared her when he was awake. He was a loose cannon and she didn't know what to expect.

For now, he slept, due to the late train they caught, but she knew she wouldn't have much time until he would reawaken due to the train stopping yet again.

Orihime had sent her text to Ichigo no more than a day ago, letting him know of her status. She figured he was probably furious with her and how she hadn't bothered to tell him earlier, but he was the one person she didn't want to include in all this.

Already, she missed him so badly, and it had only been a day without seeing his face. Minus the small exception of the photo she caught with her phone a few days prior. He had been yawning when she took the picture, and even though he demanded and even tickled her to delete it, she hadn't, saying she wanted to keep it as a precious memory. She could only look at it now, remembering in all the times they shared, just as friends and now as a couple.

Glancing her tired, weary eyes up at the clock, Orihime saw she had just a few minutes left before the next, and final stop into Tokyo, which meant a few minutes before he would wake up again. He didn't know she brought her cell phone along, and she kept it off and tucked into the back pocket of another pair of pants she had, just so he wouldn't even think of that place.

There was one last text she had sent to him, and it was mainly because she feared she wouldn't ever be able to tell him again otherwise. The thought of never seeing him, her friends, or family again disturbed and scared her, but it was definitely hard to keep positive while sitting next to her brother's murderer. Orihime felt an odd sense of emptiness for not getting a response, but she also told herself her text was very bold and isn't unusual for him to not respond.

Flipping open the phone, Orihime looked at her last sent text and felt her cheeks heat up, just moments before the train was bound to make its stop. The intercom of the train came on, alerting its riders of the next, upcoming stop, and Orihime managed to turn off her phone and shove it back into her backpack before he snapped himself awake and snarled at her.

"You didn't fucking do anything, did you?" he questioned her harshly, and she whipped her head in the incredulous negative. Upon seeing her fear and timid shake of her head, Grimmjow believed her a little and relaxed into his seat again, but kept his eyes open this time.

Orihime hugged her backpack tightly as the train started to slow. She fought back that all-too familiar prickly feeling in her eyes, and rubbed her hand against her face to wake herself up a little more. Any sleep she had gotten on the extremely long train ride had been minimal and bad.

"Come on," Grimmjow's voice was harsh as he spoke, grabbing a hold of her arm and pulling her up to an upright position. Had there not been so many people around, he probably would've tossed her around carelessly as he led her to wherever he was taking her, but due to the amount, he settled on gripping her arm and leading her out. Orihime could only wince and bit her lip from yelping out from the tight hold he had on her arm.

Together, they zigzagged through the crowds, him leading her up the station platform stairs to busy streets. People passed by, all unknowing that the man that dragged her along was a killer, and had not only murdered her brother. There was bound to be others that had the same spending habits as her brother did, but a heavy shudder coursed through her at the thought of others dying from this man's hands.

A few more turns and the streets started to become less and less populated. They were wandering into a warehouse district, from the looks of it, with a few other buildings that looked like they needed to be demolished due to old age and carelessness.

Grimmjow stopped in front of an older apartment building with what looked to be a parking garage off to the side. It looked so dilapidated, Orihime started to worry if it would collapse on them any second. Her fear and awe was broken as he yanked on her arm again, dragging her indoors. "Quit draggin' your feet, bitch," he cursed at her, uncaring of her stumbling feet.

Orihime flinched again and did not say anything in return. Once they were led indoors, she found the interior to be much more renovated than the outside made it appear to be, and it definitely looked to be in much better shape than thought. She probably would've felt relief knowing the building wouldn't collapse, but she knew that was the least of her problems.

The letter from a few days ago hadn't given her much idea of what she was to do here in Tokyo, but Grimmjow's leader had known about her brother's tendency to borrow money, if not given Sora the money in the first place, and the letter was given to her as a warning and a calling. If she were to run away or try to get help, they would kill her friends and family. She made it too easy to determine who they were, by walking home with them far too much. So she was to meet with Grimmjow at the Karakura train station as soon as she received the letter. Frowning slightly, she wished she hadn't made it so obvious, but it's not like she knew she was going to be kidnapped.

It was a trip on the elevator and a few hallways until they hit a pair of black, shiny doors, something far too elegant for a place like this. Grimmjow pushed open the doors with one hand, and dragged Orihime in with the other. The room was faintly lit, only some of the sunlight pouring in through thick, similarly black shades. A man stood behind a desk, and his attention was soon turned towards the double doors and the two people that entered.

"Ah, welcome back, Grimmjow. I see you've successfully retrieved the girl," his voice was cold and sinister as he spoke, his hands travelling to unbutton the first few buttons on his shirt. Orihime swallowed thickly, definitely not liking his tone.

"Damn straight, Aizen," Grimmjow replied nonchalantly, suddenly tossing Orihime towards the center of the room, which meant closer to this mysterious person. "The bitch gave up like the weak shit she is." He cackled as he folded his arms across his chest. "The entire family was, come to think about it."

Orihime knew her brother was killed by this man, but why were they mentioning 'entire' family? A soft snicker came from the creepy man with dark brown hair and cold, brown eyes, and she immediately shuddered again under his thick stare.

"Orihime, do you know why you are here?" Aizen asked, walking in circles around Orihime with his eyes roving her entire body. How he had known her name as well, scared her, considering he was a complete stranger. She felt so disgusted, she hadn't wanted to respond to him, but she had a feeling things would be so very bad if she didn't reply.

"N-No, I don't..." she whispered quietly, a nervous stutter escaping her. He stopped in front of her, his previously enjoyed persona melting into a cold, demanding one.

"Are you aware of your family's money troubles?"

"Um... My aunt used to mention things here and there, and then there was that day..." She couldn't help but glance backwards at Grimmjow for a quick moment, whom gave her an all too knowing smirk. "T-The day Onii-chan died, I overheard him talking with the man behind me about money." Orihime knew his name, but she was clearly in a status very below him, there was no doubt he'd be unhappy with her.

Aizen smirked faintly, as if he realized something that pleased him. "Did you ever know your parents?" She shook her head in the negative and her face fell slightly at the mention. "They were money hoarders, just like your brother. That's what got them killed in the end."

Snapping up in confusion, Orihime's eyes were wide at the mention of killings, and in the back of her mind, she wondered if this was what Rangiku hadn't wanted to tell her in the past. Telling a child her parents were murdered just as her brother was would be such a graphic way to die.

"W-What do you mean killed?" Orihime's voice was frantic as the words just rushed out of her mouth. Aizen stopped her dead in her tracks as his hand cupped her cheek, cold just as his eyes were. She could've sworn she stopped breathing for a moment as his hand ran itself through her hair and mad its way down her neck and collarbone, eventually resting on the spot above her breasts.

"Your parents nor your brother was able to pay of their incredible debt to me while they lived," he spoke softly, his eyes running over her full form in a lewd fashion. "So you will stay here and pay it off yourself."

Orihime's heart was beating so hard in her ribcage, she feared she'd go into cardiac arrest. She only hoped she hadn't noticed it, if at all. "But... I don't have much money," she told him truthfully, barely getting the words out as his hand still threatened to travel elsewhere. She had an emergency fund she could pull from, if he wanted, but her spending money otherwise was very minimal. After all, she was just a single resident living in a lone apartment back home.

"You don't have to pay with money, Orihime," he told her, his voice thick with a now apparent lust. "You can pay with your body, and you will, I assure you." Freezing in her spot, she felt her knees go weak at his disgusting words, and she felt so sick to her stomach, she was thinking she was going to throw up. Aizen released her and looked back at Grimmjow in the back of the room. "Take her too her room, Grimmjow, and have another one of our employees take meals to her three times a day. I can't have her starving if she is to be..." He paused before smiling wickedly, but retaining his cold exterior about him. "Pleasuring me, later on."

Grimmjow nodded stiffly and grabbed Orihime's arm again. "Move it, you slut," he hissed, dragging her along. As she left the room, Aizen smiled amusedly, thinking for sure, he'd get his payment for loaning the Inoues' so much money this time. After all, Orihime was a much better prize compared to everything else.

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	15. Chapter 15

_Two chapters left, yay. Then I have an announcement to make on the last chapter._

* * *

As wrong as it was, Ichigo just couldn't find it in him to go to school for the few days following that long, painful weekend. Not only was it hard withstand the past two days without any additional texts or calls from her or about her, but he thought going to school would only make things worse for him. He knew he wouldn't be able to focus on the lessons at hand while knowing Orihime was gone.

His father didn't exactly agree with him staying at home, moping around, but as long as Ichigo worked around the house to help a little, he let it slide. So Ichigo was alone, washing dishes and drying them, working in the uncomfortable, yet somewhat welcoming silence. It gave him time to think, while he worked alone, but he also found himself thinking _too_ much.

The buzz of his phone went off, the device starting to vibrate across the countertop. Setting down the dish in his hand, he wheeled himself towards his phone and picked it up, noticing the familiar number. It wasn't Orihime, regretfully, but he still raised a brow in question. Ichigo hit the 'talk' button and held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Ichigo-kun,"_ Rangiku's voice rang clearly through the phone. Her voice was still heavy and weighed down with stress, and it was very evident. _"Is this a bad time?"_

Sighing lightly, Ichigo palmed his bangs and closed his eyes. "No, I'm just at home drying dishes. Did you need something?" On the inside, his heart started to pick up the pace at the idea of there being news about Orihime.

A pregnant pause filled the phone, and he was very sure she had hung up on him. He was about to ask for her by name when she continued talking. _"I found something that you might want to come over and see for yourself,"_ she told him softly, her tone starting to become heavier, as if she was starting to cry. _"I think it's Orihime's_."

A pang of intrigue and worry hit him like a bolt of lightning, and he immediately started rolling towards the front door with one hand, the phone in the other. A feeling of determination started to flood through him, but with that new confidence came the immense fear and guilt. "I'm on my way."

* * *

After a very invigorating, long trip towards Orihime's apartment, Ichigo was at the door, out of breath and red-faced, but still pounding at the door with all the strength he could muster. It wasn't late or early, but he hadn't entirely wanted to alarm or disturb her neighbors.

Rangiku opened the door shortly after, her eyes red and swollen from all the crying she'd probably done in the last few days. And judging by her attire, he figured she hadn't gone to work either. "Oh, good," she sighed lightly, but the stress was still evident in her voice. "You're here."

Nodding gruffly, Ichigo wanted to see exactly what it was Rangiku was talking about while on the phone not so long ago. She stepped to the side to let him in, and his eyes darted around the apartment. It hadn't been that long since he was last here, but it still seemed like forever. It especially seemed a lot longer since the last time he was here with Orihime. He looked over at the couch and in an instant, the moment of them kissing and him asking her to date him rushed through him all over again.

Ichigo didn't even notice Rangiku disappear into the kitchen, due to his lost thoughts of him and Orihime in this place. A warm heat flooded his cheeks as he recalled kissing Orihime not once, but twice on that couch, on two different occasions. First was the anniversary of her brother's death, and the second one which was most recently. His hands subconsciously twitched as he remembered holding her in his arms.

"Here," Rangiku broke him out of his thoughts unintentionally, handing him a paper. He noticed her hand shaking as she gave it to him, and even the mere sight of the sheet she seemed to grow even sadder.

"What's this?" he asked, his voice quiet as he took it out of her hands. She shook her head and turned to sit on the couch. He watched her move away, and she buried her face in her hands in distress.

"Just read it, Ichigo-kun."

Swallowing thickly, he straightened out the creases and crinkles before letting his eyes rove over the paper. The first thing at the top sent his heart what felt to be right to the bottom of his stomach.

_We found you._

Ichigo just about ripped the paper there and then at the startling words, handwritten so scraggily; it took much effort to finish it off.

_Come to the Karakura train station as soon as you read this letter. A man will be waiting for you, and together you will board the next train to Tokyo. He will know who you are._

_Come alone. Do not tell anyone of this, and if you decide to run away instead, your friends and aunt will be killed off one by one, just like how your brother was killed._

_We look forward to seeing you, Inoue Orihime._

The letter in his hands fell to his lap and he stared at the sheet in shock. Orihime hadn't run off on her own, but she had been kidnapped. Or at least threatened to be if she hadn't followed orders, and of course she would've gone off with them. She was so damn selfless; she let herself go to Tokyo in order to save those she cared about. What's more is that they didn't even bother kidnapping her themselves. God knows Ichigo would've practically killed the guys had he seen them trying to manhandle Orihime.

"H-Have you called the police?" Ichigo's voice was frantic and worried as he carelessly tossed the letter to the ground. "They need to know!"

Rangiku was crying again and she buried her face into her hands further, if it was possible. "I have! I called the two police officers that gave me their card, but the damned people were busy with another murder case instead." Hearing her swear was a bit of a shock to Ichigo, but he brushed it off instead. Murders were bad, sure, but what if Orihime was going to be murdered herself in Tokyo, if she hadn't been already?

Images of Orihime being abused and killed in various ways came into his head with full force, and a choked sob of his own escaped him before he could bring his hand up to cover his mouth.

"What about the normal police line?" he asked shakily, his eyes unable to meet Rangiku's.

"They said it'd be best to leave it to the two who already know a lot about my report I filed the other day," she sobbed, reaching for a new tissue on the table next to the couch. "This is so damn frustrating!" With the police unresponsive to the threatening letter thus far, it left her aunt in tears, with Ichigo shaking like a leaf. Whether it was from anger, rage, or pure fear, he felt so blinded, he couldn't even tell anymore. Choppily, he turned his chair around to face the door again, just about hitting the door as he fumbled to open it. Rangiku's crying had grown softer as she looked up at him in confusion. "Where are you going, Ichigo-kun?"

Frustrated and just about growling, he turned the knob of the door and threw it open. "What does it look like?" he snarled, trying to move. "I'm going after Inoue!"

"But... But, Ichigo-kun, you're in a-"

He didn't mean to be mean or aggressive when he snapped his head around and scowled at her, he was just frustrated with all that was going on. "Don't you dare say I can't go after her because I'm in a fucking wheelchair. I'm sick of being unable to protect those I love because of this damn thing." His deep brown eyes were full of anger and truth, with adrenaline rushing through his system. "I'm going after her, regardless of this stupid wheelchair."

He left just as quickly as he'd arrived, and Rangiku started to tear up at his bravery. A small smile teased the edge of her lips, even though she was feeling immense sadness, and it was all because she knew Ichigo was the one for Orihime.

"Thank you..." Was the last thing she said, no louder than a whisper, before closing the door shut.

* * *

With even more apprehension and frustration, Isshin was very against Ichigo going to Tokyo alone, especially while in a wheelchair. He sensed his son's urgency and rage at the situation once it was all explained to him, but there was a feeling of dread in his gut, telling him something wasn't right. Aside from sending a crippled teenager to Tokyo to go after his kidnapped girlfriend, Isshin was wary about more than that.

Still, he let him go, springing for the emergency ticket and some cash to last him about a week. He gave Ichigo a prompt punch to the head, telling him he owed him _big_ time for this, but at the same time, told him he couldn't come back home unless Orihime was with him. Ichigo responded to him, telling his father that wasn't ever in the plan, to come home without her right by his side.

So as Ichigo rolled off the train, tired and exhausted from the long ride, he felt a sickness wash over him. He hadn't been to Tokyo since his mother died, and to remember that this was the town that changed his life gave him a suddenly sour stomach.

"Come on, you can do this..." he muttered under his breath, making his way out onto the busy street. There were so many unfamiliar people, and while he wasn't really claustrophobic, being around so many individuals gave him more of a sick feeling. It took him a while, but he eventually rolled himself to a fairly empty street, with only a few street vendors around looking at him curiously. There, he calmed himself down and tried to relax a little as he planned his next move.

He had gotten to Tokyo safe and sound, but he hadn't exactly though ahead as to how to go about his next move. And due to the long train ride, it was getting fairly late. It wasn't conditions to be searching for a missing person. Reluctantly, he wheeled himself over to one of the street vendors, piquing the owner's attention. "What can I do for you, son?" the elderly man inquired.

"Do you happen to know of a hotel or something around here? I got here a little late and I need a place to stay," he asked in a hushed voice. He already felt mortified he had to ask someone about the places in the city.

"There's a rather cheap inn down the road from here. It's a good place and the owner is nice, from what I hear," he offered, pointing southwards. Ichigo nodded and mumbled thanks under his breath, readjusting his bag on his lap before turning around and wheeling himself down the street.

* * *

Left in her room, Orihime had been crying for a few hours now. Her accommodations were minimal: a bed and a toilet with just a little bit of room to walk around, but if anything, it reminded her of a prison cell. The only plus was the door, albeit locked, that enclosed her in the room. She'd prefer to have it that way, rather than mere bars blocking the doors.

It was fear and worry that made her cry, as she had no idea as to what she'd be subjected to now that she was under Aizen's control. _Especially_ if she was to pay him with her body. She loved her brother dearly and cared for her parents to an extent, but right now, she was full of resentment towards them for what she would be forced to do. Aizen had already treaded that fine line by running his hands over her, but it wouldn't take much else for him to do more. Just the thought of him doing the worst thing possible to a woman had her shudder in disgust and cry that much harder.

A click of the lock and swing of the door opening had Orihime freeze in fear while on her bed. She didn't dare look up at who came in, but instead curled into a ball, full of fear.

"There is no need to be afraid," she heard a cold, but calming voice. The sounds in her ears immediately displaced it as Aizen, and she tried to hide herself further from the monster before her. "I have come to you to get to know you."

Peering very little out of her ball, she looked at the cruel man and frowned. He had taken a seat on the bed, sitting next to her legs. He put a hand on her bare calf, and in that instant, Orihime wished she had brought something else other than skirts for her 'trip'. They had always been the most comfortable to her, which is why she brought them in the first place.

Orihime wanted to ask him why he wanted to get to know her. If anything, she was now just a pawn in his grand scheme of whatever he had wanted to accomplish. If not a pawn, then merely a piece of meat for him to ogle at. But his hand on her, fingers twitching and running over her fair skin, had her kept silent and struggling to keep the tears back.

"I figure if you're going to be around for quite some time, there should be some conversation between us," he continued, his hand moving a few inches higher, brushing by her knee.

_The way you want me won't call for _any_ conversation,_ she thought bitterly, letting out a staggered sigh at the thought of Aizen having his way with her.

Aizen wasn't blind to her fear, and he knew she was being silent for a reason. Inching his hand a little higher, nearing her thighs, he gave her leg a small squeeze before smirking at her flinched response. "You don't want to talk about Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Snapping up at the mention of his name, Orihime's heart started to race for an entirely different reason. "How do you know about Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, her voice wavering both demanding and urgent. Taking advantage of her sitting position, he brought his hand to rest on her hip instead, and the stir of lust was beginning to show in his eyes.

"I know everything about you, Orihime," he told her, as if it was the simplest fact in the world. "From the names and occupations of your family members, to those close to you." His fingers were toying with the hem of her shirt, and Orihime immediately gasped when she saw the look in his eyes. "The poor boy, all crippled and angsting over his mother."

Her mind began to race at the thought of him knowing so much about her, even to the extent of knowledge of his mother. She swallowed thickly, trying to control her fairly labored breathing. "How... Why do you know about her?" she asked, her voice in an incredibly hushed tone. If he hadn't been so indecently close, he wouldn't have been able to hear her.

"Didn't you know? Grimmjow saw the car crash they were both in. The anniversary was a few weeks ago, wasn't it?" Orihime's face flooded with obvious dread, and it only caused Aizen to smile that sinister grin even wider. "You shouldn't have run like you did that day, Orihime. Grimmjow chased after you, but caught sight of you just as you were running across the street and the car crash shortly after." He released her as soon as her face lost all color and she looked like she was going to be sick. "So long ago, he remembers seeing a head of bright orange hair in the passenger seat, and it was only recently when he was investigating you that he saw that exact same person."

Aizen stood up from his seat, smiling as if nothing was wrong. Orihime was left on the bed, her emotions running through her like she'd never felt before, but at the same time feeling nothing. Had she really been the one to kill Ichigo's mother, and leave him in a wheelchair? It seemed so impossible, but it was all too likely as well.

"See, that was a nice conversation, wasn't it?" Aizen sneered, his cold eyes amused as he watched her already broken form crumble underneath the new truth. Surely this would be the best way to have her do as he wished, almost like a living puppet. She'd be so unfeeling after knowing she'd killed her beloved's mother and caused him despair.

He received no response, but it was to be expected. He reached out to stroke Orihime's cheek, also receiving no response. She neither denied nor accepted his touch. "In two days time, you will bed me, Orihime," he told her, seeing a sudden color rush to her cheeks. "I'm giving you a couple days preparation because I'm feeling generous. So be ready by then, or I may have to take alternative measures."

Turning on his heels, Aizen left, leaving Orihime in the silence she'd despised ever since she got here. She released her breath she didn't know she was holding, and started to cry all over again, but this time, for an entirely different reason.

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	16. Chapter 16

Ichigo made it to the hotel that night, safe and sound, but more worried and stressed than he'd ever been in his life. The elderly woman that owned the inn and ran the front desk looked at him very skeptically when he asked for a room for the night. In his head, he wondered if she thought he was underage and trying to buy a room without an adult, due to his age. But she gave him a key anyway and told him his room was down the hall. It was when he got to his room he saw a mirror on the wall, and he noticed just how shitty he looked. Perhaps she felt sorry for him, and not just because of the wheelchair.

So he lay on the bed in the relatively small room, staring at the dreary ceiling with his mind running a mile a minute. He couldn't get his mind off of Orihime. Where was she? Was she okay? What made her think she couldn't turn to him for help, even though the letter told her not to? Surely she should've known Ichigo would do anything for her, even to the point of protecting her from kidnappers.

Sighing in frustration, he didn't know where to go from here. He came to Tokyo to bring her back, with or without police help, but he arrived and hadn't know how else to go about finding her. If he already wasn't so exhausted from the long train ride and his already sleepless nights, he would've punched himself in the face at his stupidity.

Sitting up in his spot, he glared at his legs, which were a major wrench in his plans to get here. Had he not been even stupider about walking in the first place, he might've been able to get here twice as quick. In another attempt of determination, Ichigo moved his legs so they hung off the edge of the mattress. Unlike the hesitation from last time, he pushed himself off the bed with force, using the closest wall to hold himself up.

_It's all in the mind_, he told himself, staring hard at his legs as he willed himself to take one step forward. It was wobbly at best, but he managed to take one... Then another hesitant one and even a third. A smile started to appear on his features and his heart rate started to accelerate as he watching himself take small steps. But just as short lived as his attempts were, he fell right down again, collapsing onto the floor with a _thud._

"Shit!" he swore, fisting his hands as he shook lightly in anger. He was in a state of frustration over everything that had happened, and he wanted to practically cry because of all of it. He was such a useless person, he had no fucking clue how people could put up with him. He didn't know how Orihime could put up with him, and have it not be out of pity.

Due to the small room, it took little effort to crawl back to the bed and get him back onto it. Getting on it was the somewhat tricky part, and by the time he was lying down on it like he had never removed himself from it in the first place, he was out of breath and just beginning to break a sweat.

Grabbing a hold of his cell phone on the nearby nightstand, Ichigo flipped it open and began to go through his old texts, particularly the ones from Orihime. The first one he'd received from her told him not to come looking for her, but he'd totally disregarded that request anyway. The text with her confession still made his cheeks burn, but also heart drop. What if that would've been the last text she would ever send?

He shook his head from that idiotic thought, telling himself she was just fine. But an idea struck him, and his fingers pressed buttons on the phone and gave him a screen to compose a new message. With Orihime's phone number in the 'send-to' box, he let himself sit for a moment on what to write to her.

_I'm in Tokyo. Where are you?_

Hitting send, he attempted to keep his heart from beating so fast while he hoped and waited for a reply back. He stared at his phone for a good five minutes before it flashed its little light, showing he had a new text. He was frantic as he opened up the unread text, with Orihime's name as the sender.

_I told you not to come after me._

A little downhearted, he was unhappy with the response received. He had hoped it would be the location she was at, but her texting him back alone was a sigh of relief.

_You know I couldn't do that. Please tell me where you're at._

Ichigo hit send once again and waited a while for some sort of reply back, but he never received one. He was probably overanxious, but it had been about twenty minutes since he sent his off, and had gotten nothing back. He sighed in frustration and placed his phone back on the nightstand. If Orihime wasn't going to tell him where she was at, that would only make things more complicated, but that didn't mean he was going to give up either.

He fell into a deep sleep, caused from all the exhaustion and stress, which meant Ichigo would not read the text Orihime sent back no more than five minutes after he put his phone to the side, telling him of her current location.

* * *

Orihime was a complete mess. Not only was her heart broken knowing Ichigo was in Tokyo and bent on finding her, but she felt completely dead on the inside, now aware that she had indirectly killed Ichigo's mother and was the one to leave him in his wheelchair.

She didn't eat the breakfast a scrawny, male employee left for her the next day, nor did she consume the dinner he brought the night before. She felt sick to her stomach, but she was definitely in no mindset to be eating.

Everything was happening too fast, and it had made her head spin since the moment she arrived in Aizen's base. Her parents and brother had borrowed far too much money in their lifetimes, and now she was paying the price for it. Her body and innocence was in Aizen's hands, which only made her more nauseous to think about.

_Money, murder, and sex..._ she thought mundanely as she buried her face into her tear-soaked pillow. _Why am I not surprised at how these people work...?_

Her heartbeat was loud in her ears as she tried to close her swollen eyes. She had gotten no sleep last night, due to her crying over her faults and frustrations. She had wanted to feel glad she was up to get Ichigo's texts in the middle of the night, where no one would catch her using her phone, but it only added onto the stress knowing he was here in the city.

Orihime let go of a shuddering sigh as the door clicked open unbeknownst to her already loud ears. The intruder's footsteps were quiet, the door closing behind his bulky figure, just then a little too loud to cause her to snap up from her resting spot.

Standing in her room was Grimmjow, an all too disgusting look on his face. He held himself with an air of arrogance and a sense of perversion, it made her eyes grow wide and body start to shake.

"W-What do you want...?" she asked hoarsely. All her crying and tension had left her voice quite cracked.

"I'm just evening things up, bitch," he spat, taking another step closer to her trembling form. She flinched when he took that extra step, and it only made him smirk wider.

"But for what?" Orihime inquired, her voice quiet. She had no clue what called for 'evening' anything out.

"You broke my toes the day I cut you, woman," he scoffed, taking another step closer for emphasis. "Not to mention I got punished by Aizen for letting you go." In an instant, he grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her up, causing her to shriek. He held his other hand to her mouth, silencing her. "So now you're going to make up for all the trouble you caused."

Eyes widening, Orihime started thrashing around, muffled yells escaping her as she attempted to get free from his hold. She tried to bite his fingers, but the most she had been able to accomplish was a small nick to his skin, leaving his finger bleeding only slightly, but also a small dribble of blood on the corner of Orihime's mouth.

He threw her onto the mattress, giving her no time to respond and escape. Flipping her onto her stomach and pinning her hands above her head, he sneered as he pressed his lips to her neck. "Now I'm curious what your back looks like now," he commented, his one hand holding both her wrists together and the other running a finger down her clothed backside, right along where he assumed the scar to be. His trailing stopped at her mid-back, and he grabbed a hold of the shirt and ripped it right off of her.

Screaming in terror, Orihime continued to struggle and move away from his lewd hands that were now disgustingly running over her scar. He even slipped his fingers under her bra, sending terrible shivers down her spine. Cackling, he licked her scar in amusement. "Ha! In all my years of killing and pain, I think this has got to be my cleanest work ever," he barked out in laughter, making Orihime sob uncontrollably as he ran his tongue over the long-healed scar.

The sound of a phone ringing alarmed her and stopped him from his terrifying exploring. At first, Orihime's heart sank as she immediately thought it was her phone going off, but she felt as good as she could be when she found out it was Grimmjow's. He pulled it from his pocket and whipped it open, swearing under his breath.

"What?" he demanded, clearly angry he had been interrupted. He went silent for a few minutes, and for a moment, she thought it felt like the grip on her wrists was loosening, so she tried to break free. He knew better and could feel her moving around and quickly tightened his grip as he continued listening to the other person on the phone. "... Fine. We'll be down in a few minutes."

Snapping the phone shut, Grimmjow let Orihime go, allowing her to rub at her tender wrists. She wore a look of confusion, and he bent down to the ground to grab her backpack and throw it at her.

"Put a damned shirt on," he ordered, his tone so threatening, it reminded her of the same way he spoke to her the day her brother die. "_Now."_

Despite him still being in the room with her initial shirt now ripped to shreds and now laying on the bed, Orihime frantically dug in her backpack and quickly pulled out a zip-up hoodie. The almost murderous look in his eyes told her she had very little time to get dressed before he would do something unthinkable.

"W-What's going on?" she murmured as she struggled with the zipper of the article of clothing. In addition to that killing stare, she could also sense lust and it made her almost glad the phone had stopped him when it did.

"Aizen's got a certain someone down in the parking ramp, claiming to be looking for you," he told her, wasting no extra time. She hadn't even gotten dressed, her top still hanging open due to the frustrating zipper, when he grabbed her arm painfully and dragged her towards the door. "Redhead, crippled... Ring any bells?" The color drained from her face and she stared at him blankly. A snide smile grew on his face as he pushed her out the door and led her down the hall. "Heh... Thought so."

* * *

"Where the hell are you hiding her?" Ichigo swore, furious at the two lackeys holding his wrists down to the arms of his wheelchair. He had all good intentions to come after her, but he hadn't expected extra help to be keeping him there. In front of him stood a well-dressed man with brown hair and cold brown eyes, an emotionless smile gracing his lips. After making his call to Grimmjow, he wanted to meet the boy himself. The one person Orihime had gone all out for and was willing to risk her life to protect. But at the same time, the same boy whose life she ruined.

"Orihime will be with us momentarily," he explained. "Now if you'd calm down some, my accomplices wouldn't need to restrain you like they're doing." Ichigo refused to 'calm down' and instead continued to thrash around and struggle from their grasps, despite knowing all too well he wouldn't get anywhere with his lack of strength.

"I swear to god, if you ever put a hand on her, I'll-"

"Kill me? Kurosaki Ichigo, you are obviously unable to kill _me_ with your current state. Just look at you, you're pathetic."

Something snapped inside Ichigo and he managed to free his wrists from the two men that held him down. He had little room to turn, but he shifted around as they tried to regain his wrists and promptly punched one of them in the face with strength he'd never used before. Not even on his idiotic dad, he'd not used such strength. The first one's head collided with the pavement in a sickening _crack_, and he soon turned to face the second and last one, thrusting his fist into the nearest thing on the man. Another loud snap was heard as he punched him in the chest, presumably breaking a rib. The man fell to the ground and groaned in pain, making it clear he was unable to move from the monstrous punch.

Clapping in amusement, Ichigo's attention was diverted back to the leader in front of him. "So he does have some power! Regardless, you're still no match for me." Ignoring the blood dripping on his knuckles, Ichigo scowled and started moving himself towards Aizen with great speed. He was no more than five feet away when a nearby door from the stairway flew open, causing him to halt and see who it was.

Coming through the doorway was Grimmjow with an indecently dressed Orihime, the side of her lip still caked with Grimmjow's drying blood from earlier. "Move any further and she will be punished severely, in front of your very eyes, I might add," he told Ichigo, causing his eyes to flash with fear. Across the room they moved closer so they were standing right next to Aizen. He looked displeased at Grimmjow and Orihime, but his unhappiness was more directed at his subordinate. "Why is she so terribly dressed, Grimmjow?"

Frowning in anger, he gave Orihime a little shove to show her who was in power. While Aizen was technically in control of them all, he didn't want her forgetting what he had just done to her. "She was getting changed when I came to get her."

"And the blood on her face?"

"She tripped in the goddamned hallway, the stupid klutz."

Ichigo opened his mouth to protest at his harsh words, but a cold glare from Aizen cut him short. Moving in front of the terrified girl, his hands lingered by her unzipped zipper, all while glancing back at Ichigo.

"He's such a hero to have come after you, isn't he, Orihime?" he asked her, his hands first brushing over her exposed belly and fingers trailing along the waistband of her skirt. Gasping in surprise and revulsion, Orihime bowed her head forward as tears collected in her eyes. "He must love you an awful lot to come after you _despite_ you having orders not to tell anyone." He paused. "You didn't tell anyone, did you? Otherwise we might have to kill him too."

"N-No!" Orihime shrieked, finally speaking up. Her voice seemed so oddly foreign to Ichigo's ears, and he swallowed thickly. "I didn't tell him or anyone else anything!"

Aizen ignored her and zipped up her shirt for her, his hands lingering around her breasts far longer than they needed to be and it made Ichigo's blood boil. "Let go of her," he spoke thickly through grinding teeth. "_Now._"

Sobbing, Orihime shook her head, her auburn hair swinging wildly. "Just go, Kurosaki-kun, please!" she told him, wanting him to run away. She knew he had come here because she told him of the address of her location, but she hadn't thought he would come alone of all things. She thought he would've had some police officials or something joining him.

Ichigo stared at her, his eyes saying all that he thought needing to be said. He would've leave without her, he wouldn't let her get hurt anymore, and he just cared for her too goddamn much to let her go.

He knew now was the time, and he pushed himself from his wheelchair with almost no effort. He hadn't tried standing much on his own as of late, so he was surprised himself when he was able to get out of his seat so easily. Orihime gave him a shocked look as he took a slow, cautious step towards her. Grimmjow, whom was still holding her captive, took a step back in par with Ichigo's step forward.

"He won't be able to go anywhere far, Grimmjow. Its fine," Aizen told him, motioning for him to hold onto Orihime a little tighter. Ichigo took another small step, determination and perseverance written all over his face. Aizen wrapped an arm around Orihime's shoulders and held onto her cheeks, only wanting to torment the boy who was giving his all. "But while he is trying so hard to get to her, why don't we keep her entertained?"

Grimmjow knew exactly what was talking about and grinned, tightening his hold on Orihime's wrists and making her yelp out in pain. "You're going to get what's coming to you, bitch," he whispered thickly in her ear as he pressed his hand to her thigh. Aizen, whom had no interest in his subordinate's actions, stroked Orihime's face on his own time and smiled back at Ichigo.

"She's such a fine woman, Ichigo," Aizen spoke thickly, his tongue darting out to lap at her face and making her squeak. "So curved and perfect... She's nowhere near how her mother was, appearance-wise, and I'm sure she's even better in bed too." In frustration, Ichigo took bigger steps towards the three, but was still incredibly slow due to his attempt to not cripple under his own weight. Aizen turned to nip at the outer shell of Orihime's ear, causing her to groan in disgust. "But thanks to your boyfriend's little visit, your first payment will be bumped up to tonight, rather than tomorrow."

"Like hell it will!" Ichigo roared, practically throwing himself at the three. Aizen motioned for Grimmjow to handle him, and after letting go of the girl, he cracked his knuckles in amusement. He knew this would be way too easy to beat up a weakling like this.

Throwing the first punch, Grimmjow automatically sent Ichigo to his knees after a quick throw to the stomach. Ichigo clenched his midsection and groaned in agony as he glared up at the blue-haired man. He tried to throw his fists at his ankles, but before he could do so, Grimmjow easily kicked him in the stomach, again sending a sharp shooting pain throughout his entire body.

"Please don't hurt him!" Orihime cried out, sobbing hysterically. "He hasn't done anything to you!"

"That's where you're wrong, Orihime," Aizen retorted, correcting her. His hands fell to her large breasts and groped them hard, so much she was sure she'd bruise later. "He's trying to take what's rightfully ours."

"I... Inoue doesn't belong to _anyone_," Ichigo yelled out, getting another kick to his midsection and causing blood to spurt out from his mouth. Ichigo was forced to watch Orihime get touched so inappropriately, and his submission to Grimmjow only showed how weak he was for her. He wasn't able to do a damn thing to protect her. She stared down at him with wide, watery eyes, and it was clear just how much pain she was in over everything that happened.

Ichigo was reaching out his hand towards her, trying to get close to her when they all heard a loud bang. The same door Grimmjow and Orihime entered through, was slammed open and in came flooding an entire team of police officers, there in the nick of time.

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	17. Chapter 17

_Aw yeah, almost the 200 review mark for the story as we wrap it up with this final chapter! Thank you for all your support and kind words. That what was kept me writing, even though I got sick of this at times. _

_As for the big announcement, I am glad to say I'm hoping to have a sequel to this story. It's still in the planning stages, and with how busy I've been with school, I'd say it might not be written out for a little while. But please keep an eye out for it if you're interested!_

* * *

Grimmjow and Aizen were completely alarmed at the squad of police officials rushing through the doors, surrounding the group of four. Ichigo hadn't looked too concerned, to Orihime's surprise, and it made her wonder if he had known about this beforehand.

"Let go of the girl, Aizen!" One of the officers yelled out, his tone of voice sounding as if he had dealt with him before. "And you, the blue-haired one! Step away from the boy!"

Considering he wasn't armed like he probably should have been, Grimmjow had no choice but to step away from Ichigo's bleeding body, looking pissed off. "Tch... Way to ruin the fun," he scoffed, folding his hands across his chest and moving back to Aizen's side. He still held onto Orihime, looking unfazed at the group of officers.

He was reluctant to give Orihime up, but at the same time, didn't look too intensely bothered by it. "Here," Aizen spoke tonelessly, tossing her onto Ichigo's beaten body. She immediately tried to help him up and help him in anyway way that she could. The team started closing in on the two, guns still raised against them.

Aizen put his hands in his pockets, despite their orders to keep them in the air and in plain sight, and in an instant, he smirked and explosions went off all around the parking garage. With rubble flying and debris being thrown all over, Orihime had thrown herself over Ichigo's body and attempted to protect him the best she could, while everyone else had dove for cover on their own.

The building fell apart in many places, but the bombs that had apparently been set around the ramp hadn't been so bad as to crumble the entire thing till there was nothing left and kill all that were in it. Groans and moans of pain were heard from various officers around, and some were already moving out of the various chunks of cement that had been blown up from the walls and ceiling.

Ichigo blinked heavily, already disorientated from his previous beating, and he felt a heavy body lying on top of him. His injuries from before were screaming out in pain at the foreign weight, and it took all he could to muster the strength to sit up and move the body off of him.

He was shocked and frozen stiff to see Orihime covering him, her small hands gripping his shirt tightly as she cried silently. "I-Inoue..." he choked out, trying to get her attention. She was slow with her movements, but she raised her head and groggily looked into his eyes.

"K-Kurosaki-kun..." she whimpered, a faint smile gracing her face. "Are you okay...?" Her words were slow like molasses coming out of her mouth, but she didn't have the energy to speak any faster nor sit herself up. Ichigo cracked a weak smile and although hurt, he still pulled her into a hug.

"I should be asking you that..." he whispered, burying his head into her shoulder. Even though she was covered in dust and dirt, he could still smell her wonderful scent of vanilla about her. "You just threw yourself on me after a fucking bomb went off."

Orihime tried to hug him the best she could without hurting him any more, but her urgency to hug him as if to never let go was getting the better of her. "I wanted to protect you..." she explained weakly, burrowing herself into his chest.

The two fell into exhausted silence for a moment, only hearing the voices of officers pulling each other out of rubble and trying to find the two other teens. Ichigo and Orihime were so tired, all of the stress and fatigue catching up with both of them, they didn't think either of them could yell out to let the others know where they were.

"Much good that did..." Ichigo commented quietly, absentmindedly running a hand through her hair. "You're such a mess right now." He was teasing her, even if his tone hadn't sounded like it at the time. Orihime sighed and clutched onto his shirt tighter.

"I told you not to follow after me..."

Giving her a small squeeze, Ichigo pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "And I told _you _I couldn't do that. You mean too much to me." Orihime kept quiet after that, and he was more than okay with the silence. He knew she was awake, albeit tired, just as he was. Once the voices of the officers got nearer, alerting the others that they had found the two teens, Ichigo could tell they would be safe for the time being. _Orihime_ would now be safe.

* * *

After hours in the hospital, labeling both Ichigo and Orihime to have no more than bruises and scratches as well as a lot of exhaustion, the two were able to return back to the hotel. Ichigo had some internal bruising, but he was very adamant about not keeping Orihime in the hospital longer than she had to, just because he was so immensely injured. They also scared the living daylights out of the poor innkeeper, coming in looking like death warmed over and requesting another room for the night. Luckily, they hadn't had to be questioned by the police until tomorrow, which meant some time for themselves and a hell of a lot of sleep to catch up on.

Keeping in silence, Ichigo held onto Orihime, absentmindedly stroking her hair as he awaited sleep. He'd thought as soon as they had the chance, he'd fall asleep and stay sleeping like the dead, but perhaps there was just too much that had happened and he was unable to. They _only_ had to deal with kidnappings, abuse, and bombs, he mused dryly.

Oddly enough, Orihime had been stiff in his arms since the moment they laid down together. While she kept herself as close as she could to his welcoming arms, she was hesitant about something that Ichigo had yet to identify.

On the inside, Orihime was tearing herself apart. She knew she was safe and back with Ichigo, and as much as she loved being held by him, she thought she didn't deserve an ounce of his feelings for what she did to him and his family. She was still ashamed and terrified of how Ichigo would react knowing she had been the reason for all of this.

"Hey... What's wrong?" he asked, very aware she was still awake. She shook her head in his chest, and she accidentally let out a staggered sigh. She refused to tell him why she was so upset, only because she knew it would break his heart.

Orihime took the chance to flip sides, lying so she wasn't facing him, but rather, away from him. Ichigo was confused and a little hurt, but he shifted himself in the already small bed so he held her from behind, keeping in mind to watch his aching midsection. Raising a hand to brush her hair behind her ears, he kissed her shoulder lightly and continued on.

"I know something's up, Inoue... Won't you tell me?" he requested, trying to be as gentle with her as possible. He figured there was still some post-distress she had going on and didn't want to push her too far. Again, she gave him no response aside from a soft sniffle escape her.

He had wanted to be careful with her, but he'd be damned if he let her cry like this.

Grabbing a hold of her shoulder, he turned her back over so she lies on her back. Every time he saw tears falling from those beautiful eyes, he always had a sick feeling to stomach. Ichigo nervously gave her a small kiss on her cheek, feeling her tears on his lips when he did so. He cupped her other cheek with his hand, keeping her close.

"Come on, Inoue, please..." he whispered, kissing her again. "You're driving me nuts that I don't know what's wrong."

"Why..." she asked, tentatively threading her fingers into his bright hair. "Why don't you hate me, Kurosaki-kun? I've done nothing but cause you trouble..."

_Ah, figures..._ he thought in his head, now hearing that it was this whole ordeal that made her so upset. For all that had happened, it only seemed natural for that she was angsting over whether or not his feelings changed. "Of course not. Why in the world would you think that?"

As Orihime held him, she wanted to take from him as much love as she could beforehand in case he'd pull himself away in disgust and horror. "I killed your mother!" she started sobbing, her will crumbling. "That day my brother got murdered and the day I ran out in front of the street, it was _your_ car that I caused to crash."

Ichigo was shocked beyond belief, but at the same time, due to thinking about the possibility prior to this event, he didn't feel anger or hate towards her or her actions. "How... How do you know?"

"Aizen told me that my brother's killer saw me run across the street, and he remembered your hair from that day," she told him, her words broken up by her crying. She let him go in self-hate and tried to sit up and get away from him, but he instinctually kept her in one place, held tight against his chest to keep her from leaving. "Oh god, I'm so sorry, Kurosaki-kun..."

He was still letting it all soak in, that his previous thought process was now proved correct. He didn't feel any hate, and he didn't think he'd ever be able to towards the girl he cared so deeply for. And he was aware it was all unintentional, that day their relatives died. Orihime was running to protect herself from her own death. And had his mother still been alive today, he probably would've been scolded for making a girl cry.

"Its okay, Inoue..." he cooed, reassuring her. She shook her head in the negative, so very adamant in accepting his positivity. But Ichigo could be persistent as well, and he lifted her head up to meet her eye to eye. She looked at him with pained pools of gray and a trembling bottom lip. He kissed her tenderly to show his feelings though physical contact, if she was so determined to not to understand through words.

Pulling away, he rested his forehead against hers. "So if I say its okay, I really mean it," he told her sternly, but still keeping his tone gentle with her. She kept quiet about that matter, and still seemed upset about it, so Ichigo tried to change the conversation to something else. "So did you see me walking back at Aizen's place?" he asked, attempting to make her smile. "It was shitty steps, but that's promising, don't you think?"

Hearing Orihime's faint laugh and a small smile appearing on her lips, he thought it was at least some progress. She was still tearing up, but it just might take some time for things to calm down for her, was all. "Now, sleep, Inoue... You need it."

Nodding, Orihime wrapped her arm around his side, being wary of his bruised front side. Ichigo was starting to nod off, just about to reach that blessed darkness he'd been avoided the past few days, when her quiet voice whispered something almost inaudible.

"Kurosaki-kun, I... I knew you before," she blurted out, bringing him back to the late, but awake world.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, stifling a yawn as he spoke.

"Back in daycare, when we were so little, um..." she wasn't sure how else to continue, so she let herself trail off. It took Ichigo a few minutes, and Orihime was sure he'd fallen asleep when he inhaled sharply.

"Oh! God, that was so long ago, Inoue. How do you even remember stuff like that?" he inquired, genuinely shocked and baffled at her good memory and their apparent relationship way before she moved to Karakura as a teen.

"You were my first and only friend at the time," she replied, snuggling into his chest. "How could I forget?" Smiling at her, Ichigo had to admit it was a solid point. A sad one, definitely, but it made sense.

"See? It's fate." He didn't particularly like throwing around that word, considering how he was a person who preferred to shape his own destiny, but things had been too damn coincidental as of late, and it was all things he couldn't ignore.

Humming in approval and understanding, Orihime's eyes fluttered closed, nodding off into a deep sleep, in which Ichigo followed her example only moments later.

* * *

A few weeks later, they were back home and back in school. Ichigo and Orihime had been detained the following day for questioning and debriefing, only to find that Aizen and Grimmjow were never found underneath all the rubble. Whether or not they died or actually escaped was still unknown, but the police decided to close their case until further notice. If either of them were spotted again, either of the teens would be able to take legal measures if they so chose to.

Rangiku could only stay so long with Orihime before returning back to her own home. Her initial stay with Orihime was only temporary, and she had stayed plenty long already, but Orihime could tell there was a nagging feeling from her aunt as she stood by the door with her suitcase next to her.

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay a little longer?" Rangiku asked in concern, looking at her niece, then back at the boy next to her. Orihime nodded and turned to Ichigo, whom was still somewhat wrapped up in bandages like a mummy. Reaching out to hold his hand, she nodded and smiled.

"I'll be just fine, and Kurosaki-kun is just down the road if I need someone around." Ichigo grinned back at Orihime warmly, not really caring about how stupid he probably looked while her aunt was around. Truth be told, Rangiku was still worried about Orihime, and she probably would be for some time. With Aizen and Grimmjow still on the loose, she wouldn't know if they'd come back for Orihime. But she also couldn't stay here forever, and Orihime was already an independent individual that could take care of herself just fine.

Cracking a small smirk, Rangiku picked up her purse and slung it onto her shoulder, grabbing a hold of her suitcase with her other hand. "Well, if Ichigo-kun is going to be coming over more frequently, at least promise me you'll use protection!" Orihime turned the darkest red she'd ever been and Ichigo spluttered and flailed around.

"N-No, it won't be like that! I'm not going to do anything Inoue doesn't want to do," Ichigo explained, practically dying on the inside. She only smirked wider and grabbed the door knob. As much as she wanted to retort with another snappy, witty comeback, she knew it would make her already mortified niece pass out or something equally bad.

"Make sure you call regularly," she instructed Orihime, whom nodded promisingly as she watched her aunt leave out the door. Once the quiet _click_ of the door was heard and the two teens both let go of a breath they didn't know they were holding in the first place.

"I'm going to miss her..." Orihime quietly admitted, turning to face Ichigo with a somewhat disheartened look on her face.

"You'll still be able to talk to her, don't worry." Ichigo motioned for them to go to the all-too familiar couch and sit where it's more comfortable, and she wholly agreed to that idea. Together they made their way there, Orihime walking and Ichigo rolling, but he stopped a good few feet away from the furniture, determined to at least take his own steps to it, despite still being somewhat injured. Orihime held onto his hands, inwardly very proud of how far he'd gotten with his walking. Taking step by step, she knew he was still weakened for the most part, but he was also trying his best. "You know, there was a reason I never wanted to walk before," he spoke under his breath, confusing his poor girlfriend.

Helping him down onto the couch, Ichigo opted to take her down with him, causing them both to collapse onto the cushions, with Orihime lying on top of him. At first she was going to protest at how he was still healing and she was far too heavy to be lying on him, but the sharp look in his eyes told him better not dare say it. "And what was that?" She half-pouted, curious as to his odd words.

Looking a little more serious, he paused to collect and determine just what words would be best to say. "With my mom... She was the most important person to me at the time. I thought, 'what's the point of walking if she's gone?'" Orihime frowned a little, considering this was the first time Ichigo had ever talked about his mother in such a sad way. If anything before, it had been either neutral or rather positive.

"So what made you change your mind now?" she asked, her tone gentle and not wanting to force the subject at hand. Ichigo managed to turn a little redder, at least compared to earlier, and desired to look at anything _but _Orihime. Though her open, wondering expression had him staring all over again.

"... My mom was my most important person before, but you, Inoue..." Watching her cheeks start to light up similarly to how his did, he thought she was starting to catch on. "You're my... my..." Trailing off again and growing frustrated, Ichigo swore under his breath and instead kissed the girl in his arms long and passionately, as cheesy as it seemed to him at the time. He knew he was a man better suited for actions, not words, and he really hoped she would understand what he was trying to say.

Pulling away and hearing a soft _pop_ from the lips separating, Orihime's cheeks were red and her smile was wide. Even her eyes, partially closed from the kiss just moments before, seemed to be happy and glowing too.

"You're my most important person too, Kurosaki-kun."

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_Fin._


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